Lightness and Darkness
by UThnkUrFunny IThnkImAdorable
Summary: AU Mary and John adopt two boys named Sam and Dean, who have been severely abused and refuse to be separated. However these boys may turn out to be more trouble than they're worth. Limp!Hurt!Sam Protective!Hurt!Dean Non-graphic sexual/physical abuse
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD  
**

**Alrightly, my new story! I don't know if it'll take... I haven't really done a story like this before. Though this must be my LONGEST first chapter ever.**

**The beginning of this chapter might be a bit boring, but please try and bare through it :D  
**

**Sam is ten, Dean is fifteen.  
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**Enjoy chapter one!  
**

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"So you and John have decided to foster?" Mrs. Schunen asked.

"Yes," Mary Winchester said. "We've tried to have a child for over a year but..."

Mrs. Schunen nodded her head. "I understand. Most of the foster parents are here just for that reason."

"So how does this work?" John asked.

"The children are in recreation right now, so you may go and meet them if you'd like."

"That would be wonderful," Mary said.

Mrs. Schunen smiled as she stood and led the Winchesters to the Recreation Center. "It's always wonderful to get people willing to foster."

"Well, our hope is to eventually adopt," Mary said.

"That's wonderful!" Mrs. Schunen said. "The life of a foster child is never easy. The system is very imperfect and sometimes the children end up worse than they would have if they stayed with their parents."

"What do you mean?" Mary inquired.

"Well... cases of abuse and so forth, even cases of death, are much higher among children in the foster care system. We're understaffed, underfunded... heck. I bet some of the kids here are abused, but there are so many of them... we just can't stop it all."

John nodded in agreement. "I know."

Mrs. Schunen looked at John in surprise. "You were in the foster care system?"

He nodded. "Not the best time of my life."

"So you two are fully aware of the possible risks and difficulties that go along with fostering."

John and Mary nodded.

"That's good. All children deserve to have a home, no matter who they are or what packaging they may come with. Most people can't seem to grasp that." She stopped at a white, steel double door. "Alright. Here we are." Mrs. Schunen opened the door, letting a barrage of noise out. They all slipped inside and closed the door behind them.

There were dozens and dozens of children, all from the ages of five to fifteen. Most were playing around, some were reading or doing work. As Mary and John looked at all of them in awe, Mrs. Schunen left them to take care of a few teens that were smoking in the corner. '_If you want to do this crap, fine. But not HERE!_'

Mary smiled. "My god, John. Look at all these children!"

John let out a long sigh. "Too many."

Mary nodded solemnly. "I wish we could take care of them all."

John wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders. "Trust me, Mary. One will be plenty hard enough."

Mary scanned the entire mass of children, looking for any that seemed to call out to her the most. A small ball sudden hit her foot. She bent down to pick it up when a timid young Asian boy came up. She smiled and held out the ball to him. He hesitantly took it and smiled. "T'ank you, ma'am," he whispered before running off.

Mary stood again and sighed. "How are we gonna choose?"

Mrs. Schunen came back with a slight scowl on her face. "I'm sorry about that...!"

"It's alright," Mary said. "Teenagers will be teenagers."

Mrs. Schunen sighed. "Not if you raise them right. Though I've discovered that genes tended to override how one's raised."

Mary thought about that. Then, not wanting to get distracted, she looked back at the children. "How do we decide?"

"Well, do you have any kind of child in mind?"

"Not really. Not one that's too old. I want to _raise_ a child."

Mrs. Schunen looked around the center. "Well, there's no lack of young children..."

While his wife and the social worker tried to work out which child to choose, John looked around the center feeling a sense of nostalgia. He was lucky to have been fostered as young as he was, and by loving parents. And even when he was seven, he had already been abused by his birth parents and one social worker.

_Which soul are we gonna save from this life_? John felt awful having to choose, but he didn't really have any other choice.

His scan of all the children eventually stopped at the far corner of the room. It was completely barren except for a couple blankets and pillows, and two boys.

"Mrs. Schunen?" John interrupted.

"Yes, Mr. Winchester?"

"Who're those two boys?"

Mrs. Schunen smiled. "I'm sorry, you're going to have to be more specific than that?"

John pointed to the corner. "Over there in that corner. They're just sitting there, not doing anything."

Mary looked where her husband was indicating and blinked at the sight. One boy was about nine or ten, while the other was a young teen. The younger one was sitting in the older's arms. They simply sat there, alone from all the other children, not even talking to each other.

"Oh," Mrs. Schunen said softly. "That's Sam and Dean." She noticed the curious looks the couple were giving the boys and shook her head. "I really don't recommend those two."

Mary turned to the social worker, shocked at the woman's sudden attitude change. "Why not?"

"They're..." She sighed. "I know you were looking for _one_ child. Unless you don't mind a lot of screaming, I don't think separating them would be wise."

Mary looked back at the children and felt something wrench in her heart. "Seems odd that a teen and a young boy like that would be so close."

"They're brothers. Half-brothers, but brothers."

Mary took in a deep breath. Something about the sight of them was just so _sad_, even compared to the other children here. "What if we took them both in?"

Mrs. Schunen shook her head again. "I still don't recommend it. They're extremely socially inept, we believe the younger is autistic, the older is prone to violent tempers... well, the list goes on."

Mary gave Mrs. Schunen a look of disbelief. "What happened to all children deserving a home, no matter what they're situation."

Mrs. Schunen huffed. "You two are new at this. You've never had any experience raising children. I assure you, if you try and take care of those two, you'll be sending them back within a week."

Mary couldn't believe what she was hearing. This woman seemed to truly believe that all children deserve a good life, and here she was, taking that chance away from the two boys who seemed to need it most.

John seemed to agree with her. "We want to meet them."

Mrs. Schunen raised an eyebrow. "Alright. Go wait outside, and I'll arrange for you to meet them."

---

John and Mary sat side by side in the waiting room. According to Mrs. Schunen, they were moving Sam and Dean to a private room for them to meet in.

"John?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you think?"

He sighed and shrugged. "We'll have to see."

Mary shook her head. "I still can't believe the way Mrs. Schunen was acting towards them. She seems perfectly understanding of all the other children but..."

"If Mrs. Schunen is like that at all, it's likely she's like that normally."

"No," Mary said. "I can tell, she truly wants what's best for these children. Just not those two boys."

John shifted a little in his chair. "It's not just her."

Mary looked at her husband. "What?"

"All the other children were avoiding them, too. Didn't you notice how all the children stayed a good ten feet away from them."

"Outcasts in a group of outcasts..." Mary closed her eyes. She couldn't think of anything more sad. "That just makes me want to take them home even more."

John turned to his wife and rest a hand on hers. "You understand... if we decide to take these two home, we're probably working pretty much full-time to get them settled. Especially since they're not that young. It's going to make it all the more difficult for _them_."

Mary smiled. "So you want to take them home?"

John sat back in his seat. "Let's meet them first and see."

---

Thirty minutes later, Mrs. Schunen came and told them that the boys were ready. As she led them to the room she gave them a quick overview of who they were.

"Dean was born in '79. Mother's name was Angela Lucus, the father is unknown. In '82, Angela married a man named Deamon Daray. In '83, Sam was born. Angela died giving birth to him. Five years later, Deamon Daray was arrested for the torture and murder of nine people. Since then, Sam and Dean have been in twelve different foster homes."

"Twelve?!" Mary exclaimed. "What on earth happened?!"

"A few times, we found the foster parents to be either abusive or neglectful. All the other times, the parents just sent them back, claiming they couldn't take care of them for one reason or another. Usually the reasons were legitimate."

"Reasons like what?" John asked.

"Dean's sent several kids to the hospital, usually foster siblings. He's also very destructive and medication doesn't seem to do much. And it seems that Sam's a troublemaker as well. He's been caught stealing, children claim that he torments them, taunts them and so forth..."

Mary sighed in disbelief. It seemed impossible two boys could be so 'screwed-up,' so to speak. "How old are they now?"

"Dean is almost fifteen, Sam is ten."

They reached the door going into the private room. Mary tried to ignore the locks on the steel door.

"A security officer will be present for your own safety. He'll stand to the side and can generally be ignored. He'll only intervene if it seems Dean's about to harm you."

Mary and John nodded, and Mrs. Schunen unlocked the door and let them in. "I'll be back in twenty minutes."

The door was shut and locked behind them, leaving them alone with the boys.

There were only four chairs in the room, nothing else. The security officer was standing in a corner, watching the boys carefully.

The boys in question occupied two of the chairs. They were scooted right next to each other, with Dean's arm wrapped tightly around Sam's shoulders and Sam's hand gripping Dean's shirt in a death grip.

Mary smiled and she extended a hand. She tried to ignore their slight flinch. "My name's Mary. It's nice to meet you."

Sam buried his face in his brother's chest. Mary frowned at the action. It certainly didn't match up with a boy that supposedly tormented other children. Dean looked at the hand in suspicion, then up at Mary's face. His eyes slowly wandered to John who was standing back behind his wife.

When it became evident neither boy was going to take the offered hand, Mary and John sat down in the chairs facing the brothers. "We're thinking about fostering you," Mary said.

Dean's eyes narrowed. "Why?" he said.

Mary blinked. She honestly didn't expect him to say anything. She sat up straighter and said, "Because we can't have children of our own."

Dean nodded towards the door. "There are lotsa other kids."

"Yes, there are. But we're here with you."

Dean tightened his arm around his brother and glared at the couple suspiciously. His gaze flickered to the security officer before returning to the Winchesters. "What do you want?"

Mary frowned at the question. "To raise you," Mary said. "To take care of you."

Sam's face peaked out of it's hiding place to look at the couple. When he saw Mary and John looking back, he quickly hid his face again. It would have been cute, if not so heartbreaking. Dean rubbed his brother's arm comfortingly, bending his head down to lightly touch Sam's.

John shifted in his chair, causing Dean's head to snap back up. "What have your other homes been like?" John asked.

Dean shrugged distractedly, his focus on the couple's movements. "Just homes."

John nodded. He leaned forward slightly, making Dean tense up. "Dean... we're not taking you our home to hurt you. Either of you. We're taking you home so you can have a life."

Dean shook his head. "I don't believe you."

John sighed. He stood up as he said, "Look, kid..."

Dean jumped up from his chair, Sam closely following. Their chairs got knocked back as Dean and Sam quickly retreated to the wall behind them. Dean stood in front of Sam, taking a protective stance against the couple.

The security officer tensed up and reached for his tazer, but one glare from John Winchester and he was backing back up into his corner.

John put his hands up in a non-threatening manner and Mary stood up next to him, staring at the boys in worry. Sam was trembling hard, his fists grasping his brother's shirt with a death grip. Dean looked almost feral, ready to attack at a single moment.

"I'm not going to hurt you," John insisted.

Dean shook his head. "I don't know that. And I'm not willing to find out."

John barely flinched before Dean was on him. Mary screamed as John was knocked backwards against the wall, the teenager's hands at his throat. John stayed lax under the grip, looking straight into Dean's feral eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you," he reiterated.

Dean faltered. His snarl fading into a look of confusion.

"Let him go!"

Dean spun around to find the security officer holding Sam roughly in front of him, his tazer aimed at Sam's chest. Sam was pale, tears streaming down his face, petrified from terror.

Dean's snarl returned. "Let go of him! NOW!"

"Step away from the Winchesters," the security officer said. When Dean didn't move, the officer pressed the tazer to Sam's chest.

"NO!" Dean screamed.

Mary squeezed her eyes shut and turned away as Sam's high-pitched screams echoed through the room. "Stop it!" she screamed. "He's just a boy!"

Before anyone could move, John grabbed the officers arm and pulled him away from Sam. Dean dove for his brother and wrapped him tightly in his arms.

John pinned the officer to the wall and snarled, "What kind of sicko brutalizes children like that!?"

"It was to get Dean under control," the officer snapped. "That kid's the only way of controlling him."

John's eyes darkened, memories of his own treatment coming back to haunt him. He dragged the officer to the door and pounded on it. "Schunen! Get us outta here!"

Moments later, the door swung open and John shoved him out of the room.

Mrs. Schunen gasped as the officer scrambled to stand back up.

"You approve of tazering kids?!" John demanded.

Mrs. Schunen glanced at the boys huddling in the small room. "Did Dean try to hurt you?"

"No!" John yelled. "He was just trying to scare me. And your _officer _thought it fit to _electrocute _his brother!"

Mrs. Schunen placed her hands on her hips. "I'd like to see you control Dean any other way."

John shook his head in disbelief. "We're taking them home."

Neither Winchester noticed Dean's head turning to look at them, or the way they darkened in unspoken fear and rage.

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**Well... that's chapter one.**

**If you guys don't like it that much, I'll pursue another storyline (Though I have to admit, I liked writing this first chapter. And I've got a whole storyline laid out! XD)**

**Review and let me know what you think.  
**

**PLEASE REVIEW! THE DRAGON'S HUNGRY!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**OMG, I got an OVERWHELMING response from the first chapter! I serious didn't expect his story to be so much of a hit!**

**Just a few things I need to address. No. 1: I'm not going to be update this story this frequently. I just had to get another chapter out before I work on my other stories. On average, I'll probably have one update per week. Maybe two if I'm lucky. No. 2: I had some people complaining about the boy's situation and why _they_ were just being abused like such and how unrealistic it is. I'm just going to say, there's a _reason_. It's not just by chance or anything like that. There's a _reason_ everybody doesn't like them.  
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**Okay... now that _that's_ taken care of...  
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**Enjoy chapter two!  
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They were driving home, John and Mary sitting in the front of the old Chevy Impala while the brothers were curled together in the back. According to them and the social worker, they have no belongings of their own. Even the clothes they wear were donated from GoodWill.

Mary's eyes constantly flipped the the rear view mirror, watching the boys carefully. She spent this time to study them a little. She didn't really get a chance to before, and she was curious.

Sam's body was still a little spasmodic, and dried tears covered his face. His eyes were fearful, staring at nothing. Dean was curled around his brother, his body rigid and his eyes always glued up front. When ever Mary looked back, he was there, staring right back at her.

They were both good looking children. Sam was thin and had a delicate face. His hair was longish and chocolate brown colored. Dean was obviously growing into his final adult image, a chiseled jaw and sculpted face starting to form. He was certainly going to be one with the ladies.

And their eyes... They were simply stunning. Sam's were pale green-blue while Dean's were bright green.

Mary's eyes wavered and found themselves staring at Dean's hands. She didn't know how she missed it before, but she did. Both of his hands were covered in burn scars. And they seemed to go up his arm a bit. They looked to be about a year or two old. Mary's stomach wrenched as she imagined how Dean could have possibly received those.

"Alright..." John said as he pulled into the driveway. "We're home."

Dean's eyes shifted from the couple to the house. "Nice house," he mumbled.

John and Mary got out of the car and Mary opened the back door for the boys. Dean kept a watchful eye on the Winchesters the entire time as he and Sam maneuvered out of the car without once letting even six inches of space get between them.

As Mary and John led them to their front door, Sam's trembling increased exponentially as Dean suspicion began to rise.

Once they were inside, Mary and John told the brothers to sit on the couch while they sat on chairs opposite them.

"As you may have already heard," John started, "We're considering adopting you. We're going to take care of you for a year and if the state and we agree... we'll adopt you."

Sam looked up at his brother with a confused look, which Dean returned.

"Because of your situation," John continued, "We've decided to home school you. We'll be hiring tutors to help you through your courses."

"Separately?" Dean asked.

"Together... if that's what you'd like. We won't be starting this until you guys get settled, though. We gonna take it easy at first. Let you get a lay for the land, so to speak. Unfortunately, we were only expecting to get one kid, so you'll have to share a room and mattress for now..."

"That'll be fine," Dean said.

They all sat in silence for a few moments before Mary sighed. "So, is there anything you boys want to tell us?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know... what you like to do, where you like to hang out..." She looked down at Sam. "What about you, sweetie? Do you wanna say something?"

Sam just looked at her with wide, fearful eyes. Dean held Sam impossibly closer, glaring at Mary. Mary sat back, a little hurt at their reaction.

"We don't like to do anything," Dean said. "We don't like to hang out anywhere."

John sighed. "Okay. We'll show you to your room, then we'll call you down when dinner's ready."

---

Sam and Dean were curled in the corner of the bed against the wall. Sam was slowly falling asleep in his brothers arms as Dean's mind was working furiously. More than anything he just wanted to get out of this stifling house and run as fast as he could. But he couldn't, because Sam wouldn't be able to keep up, and CPS would surely be sent after them again.

So what, they should just stay there? Try and live a normal life? Yeah, right. That's not even humanly possible for them, even if they tried. They're freaks, and they knew it. It was only a matter of time before the Winchesters knew it as well.

Dean shook his head and curled in further on himself. He just didn't know what to _do_. Their options seemed to be to stay, or go back to the system. Neither of which Dean wanted. More than anything, he just wanted to take care of Sam on his own. Just get his own job, own home, and they could alone, in peace. But he was only fifteen. He could probably get a job, but the chance of them getting their own place to stay and still avoid CPS was close to none. And he didn't want Sam growing up on the streets.

There was a loud knock on the door, causing the brothers to jump and stiffen.

"Boys?" Mary's voice said. "Can I come in?"

Dean nodded. "I-I guess."

Mary slowly opened the door and came in. She didn't notice Sam and Dean's flinch as the door clicked shut behind her.

"I'm going to start dinner soon. Do you have any preferences?"

Dean frowned. "You're asking _us_ what we should eat?"

"Yes."

Dean looked at his brother then back at Mary. "Food would be nice..."

Mary chuckled at that, but quickly stopped when she realized he was totally serious. "Oh... I see. Any _kind_ of food in particular."

Dean shook his head. "Not really."

Mary looked down at Sam. "Anything you want, sweetie?"

Sam looked up at his brother fearfully, his fists trying to get a better grip on Dean's shirt.

"No," Dean said. "Anything you want is fine."

Mary nodded sadly. "Alright, then..." She opened the door and was about to leave.

Dean frowned. "Wait."

Mary turned around and smiled hopefully. "Yes?"

Dean swallowed hard. He looked down at Sam, who looked back with fearful eyes. Then, Dean slowly started to uncurl himself from Sam. Sam curled into a ball on the bed and started to rock himself as Dean stood and faced Mary. Mary could see Dean shaking and knew he was scared of something.

He held out one of his burn-covered hands and said, "Weweren'tproperlyintroducedbefore."

Mary looked at the shaking hand in surprise. She slowly took it in hers, gently encasing the large, scarred hand with her fingers. Dean flinched at the contact, but his shaking started to decrease the longer they were in contact. "My name's Mary," she said.

Dean smiled and shook her hand. "I'm Dean."

Mary smiled in turn. "It's good to meet you, Dean." She gave Dean's hand another shake before she let go. "I should go make dinner now."

"R-right..." Dean said.

Mary smiled and quickly exited the room, closing the door behind her.

---

Mary leaned against the wall of the hallway, staring at her hand in amazement. She really didn't expect that from him. He seemed so timid and hesitant, but then their hands met, and a new trust seemed to form in his eyes.

She rubbed her hand against the other. The smooth and rigid scarring of Dean's hand still imprinted on hers, and made her wonder even more how he got them.

---

Dean sat back down next to his brother, starring at his hand. He blinked when Sam placed a hand in his. Dean wrapped his fingers around the small appendage and smiled. "Maybe we _can_ make this work out."

Sam smiled sadly before bowing his head.

"Hey..." Dean cupped Sam's head in his hands and forced him to look up at him. "If it doesn't work for one of us, it doesn't work for either of us."

Tears filled Sam's eyes as he leaned into his brother's chest and softly sobbed. He gripped Dean's shirt like a lifeline as he started to shake.

"It's okay, Sammy..." Dean gently rubbed Sam's back as he held him close. "I'm not gonna leave you... or let you go. We're in this together, no matter the outcome."

---

John smiled as he set the table. Mary was practically dancing as she made dinner. The interaction that occurred between her and Dean made it seem as though she could fly.

_Seeing her when Sam opens up should be interesting_, John thought amused.

"John?" Mary said.

"Hmm?"

"Dinner's almost ready. Do you wanna get the boys?"

"I better," he said. "You've been hogging all the time with them."

"Shut up," she said with a smile.

John finished setting out the silverware and headed up the stairs. He was more wary than his wife, knowing they'd probably be more fearful of him because he was a man. Unfortunately, it seemed to be that most abusers were male. Although there were plenty of females ones, chances are, Sam and Dean were abused mostly by men.

He knocked on the door and said, "Dinner's ready, boys."

"O-okay..."

John opened the door, but stayed in the hallway. Sam stood by Dean's side, practically glued to it. Dean had an arm around his brother's shoulders, watching John closely.

John smiled and indicated the stairs with his hand. "Ready?"

Dean nodded and they slowly walked forward, trying to stay as far away from the man as possible. John tried to appear non-threatening as they passed.

When they got to the dining room, bowls of salad and spaghetti were already set. Mary was standing over the table and smiling. "Ready to eat?"

Sam and Dean sat opposite the couple, their chairs scooted together, and constantly in contact. They barely ate anything, only the occasional nibble, which seemed to occur when they thought John and Mary weren't looking.

Mary tried not to stare at them as time went on, but she couldn't help to at least _observe_ them. They're interaction was extraordinary. They seemed to know exactly what the other was thinking. If Sam was thirsty, Dean would reach forward and bring the glass closer him so he could reach it. Sam also seemed to do no more or less than what Dean did. If Dean ate a bit of spaghetti, Sam would also eat a bit of spaghetti. If picked up his fork and set it somewhere else, he would do the same.

"Dean," John said.

Dean's head snapped up. "Yes?"

"Why don't you put that knife back on the table."

Dean stiffened. Mary frowned until she noticed the butter knife was missing. She looked over at Dean and saw him gripping it tightly in his hand. "Dean, sweetie..." she said. "Put the knife back."

Dean glared up at her and John. "Why?"

"Because we told you to," John said.

"And because we don't want you to hurt yourself," Mary added.

Dean started to shake. He brought the knife up and looked at it for a moment. Then he snarled as he brought his arm up and slammed it into the table.

Mary gasped and jumped up in shock. John remained stoic where he sat. Dean was still gripping the handle of the knife, as if he was scared to let it go. Sam leaned forward and tentatively grasped Dean's arm. Dean's shaking reduced and he slowly let go of the knife. He looked up at the Winchesters, as if daring them to say something, to _do_ something.

"I think you should go to your room," John said.

Dean looked at John is disbelief. "Why?"

John looked calmly at Dean in the eye. "Because I think you need to calm down."

"Or because you need to figure out how to fucking control me!" Dean spat.

John frowned. "Why did you do that with the knife?"

Dean looked at the knife in confusion. Then back at John. He huffed as he grabbed Sam's head and left the dining room.

"Dean -- " Mary started.

"Leave it, Mary."

"What on earth was that about, John!? Why did he do that with the knife?! Why did just storm out like that after -- ?!"

"He's trying to figure us out," John said.

Mary frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You see it in the marines a lot. He's trying to figure out how much power we have and how exactly we'll use it." John sat back in his chair and sighed. "He's trying to figure out how safe he is."

* * *

**Well...? Whaddya think? Is it what you expected? Better? Worse?**** Serious, review and let me know EXACTLY what you think.  
**

**PLEASE REVIEW! THE DRAGON'S HUNGRY!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**HOLY CRAP! Two chapters and 65 reviews!?! (*takes a sarcastic tone* I think you guys like this story...) Thank you so much for the support! I am most definitely continuing now XD  
**

**Things are a little slow at the moment, but I'm trying to make this fic realistic, so please try and be patient XD**

**I have a new poll on my profile. I'm going to be really busy starting next week and might be updating less often. So I was just wondering if there were any fics in particular you wanted me to work on more than the others. VOTE AND LET ME KNOW!  
**

**Enjoy chapter three!  
**

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According to the digital clock in their room, it was well past midnight.

Sam had fallen asleep several hours ago, the stress of the day catching up with him. Dean was sitting up on the bed, mindlessly stroking Sam's hair. He couldn't sleep, not now. Not until he knew exactly what the Winchesters would do. How they would react. For all Dean knew, they could still be angry about what happened at dinner and sneak in in the middle of the night to punish them. That's how Lily and Jack did it.

Or they could lock them in for a couple of weeks, never opening the door except to give them water every few days. Like Dae Yong and Kristy.

Or they could simply catch them unawares and tie them up, beat and torture them until they were quivering messes. Like Simon and Patrick.

Dean was brought out of his musings when Sam whimpered in his sleep. Dean rest a hand on Sam's cheek and made soft shushing noises. A few moments later, Sam had settled back down into a restful sleep.

Dean leaned forward and kissed Sam softly on the top of his head. "Sleep well, Sam," he whispered.

---

When Mary came down, she was surprised to see her husband sitting at the table, reading the paper and drinking coffee. "Shouldn't you be a work?"

John looked at his wife and smiled. "Good morning to you, too." He folded the paper and set it down on the table. "I'm taking the week off."

Mary smiled. "To help with Sam and Dean?"

John nodded. "I'm worried about you, Mary. I'm worried about what Dean could do."

"But you, yourself said -- "

"That doesn't mean he won't hurt you. If he thinks he's in danger, he _will _hurt you. That much I'm certain of."

Mary sighed as she walked into the kitchen and started to make breakfast. "I want to help those boys, John."

"I know, Mary. So do I."

"It's just... I don't think I know _how_ I can help them. Thinking about last night, I think it was made very clear that I was completely caught unawares."

"That's part of having a child. They don't come with manuals, no matter who's child it is." John stood and joined his wife in the kitchen. "We'll just have to take it one step at a time."

"And what exactly is the next step?"

John shrugged. "Making sure that they know they're safe here."

Mary blew out a sigh. "That's not an easy step. I mean, have you seen Dean's _hands_!? I can't imagine what could have happened to have scarred them so badly."

John nodded. "I admit it's not gonna be easy. But I'm sure the hell not sending them back."

"Of course not!" Mary exclaimed. "After everything they've been through, they need a good home!"

John smiled and leaned forward, lightly kissing his wife on the cheek. "I love you, Mary."

Mary smiled. "I love you too, John." She tore open the bag of bacon and set it to sizzle on the stove. "Why don't you get the boys for breakfast?"

John nodded and gave his wife one last kiss before turning around and exiting the kitchen.

When he got to the boys' room, he knocked on the door and said, "Boys? Why don't you come down for breakfast?" When there was no answer, John frowned. "Boys?" He slowly opened the door and peaked inside.

Dean was awake and glowering at the door. He sat protectively in front of his slumbering brother.

John gave a small smile and said, "Breakfast will be ready soon. Why don't you wake Sam up and get him ready?"

Dean's gaze darkened. "What do you mean 'get ready'?"

John stood back and pointed to the bathroom across the hallway. "I mean brushing your teeth and taking care of your hair. There's a few new toothbrushes in there and some toothpaste. We've only got one new hairbrush so you'll have to share until we go shopping. Which knowing my wife, will be sometime later today."

Dean's face clouded with fear. "Go... out?"

"You don't have to go if you don't want. You can just tell Mary what size stuff you wear and she can guess everything else."

Dean shifted uncomfortably. He looked as though he was about to say something when he turned around.

Sam was sitting up behind him, tugging on his shirt. He quickly scooted up and grasped Dean's shirt tightly, laying his shaking body against Dean's back.

Dean looked back at John and said, "What about you?"

John cocked his head in question. "What do you mean?"

"When..." Dean licked his lips nervously, not sure how to address his new foster parents. "When... _she_ goes out... where'll you be?"

"I'll be here, hanging out, probably watching football."

"John!" Mary called from downstairs. Dean and Sam both jumped at the sudden shout. "Breakfast is ready!"

"Alright!" John called back. He looked back at the boys and smiled. "You guys hungry?"

---

Breakfast was spent much like dinner was at first. There was no talking, Dean and Sam sat right next to each other, and Sam did everything exactly like his big brother did.

Eventually, Mary just couldn't take the silence anymore. "So boys... what do you want to do today?"

Dean looked up at Mary with suspicion. Sam grasped the hem of Dean's shirt and kept his gaze downward. "Do you want us to do anything in particular?" Dean asked carefully.

Mary shook her head. "No. I just want you boys to get comfortable here."

Dean slowly nodded, his gaze flickering to John. "Maybe we'll just watch some football."

For a moment, John was thrilled that Dean seemed to want to be with him, but then he saw Dean's expression and knew that Dean didn't want to watch football to be with him. He wanted to watch football to keep an eye on him.

Mary looked a little confused but quickly shook it off. "Alright then... Well, I'm probably going to go shopping today. You boys are going to need more than those rags you got on. Do you know what size you wear?" When Dean shook his head, Mary just smiled. "That's alright, I can just guess. Then you can try them on and see what fits."

Dean nodded and took a nibble of the bacon. Sam followed suit, quickly putting the bacon back down and shrinking back against his brother.

Mary looked at Sam and smiled. "What about you, Sam? Do you know your size?" She knew it was sort of a silly question to ask at that moment, but she was dying to hear Sam's voice.

Sam didn't even look at Mary. Instead he turned his face and hid it in Dean's side.

Mary sighed, a little disappointed. She looked over at Dean and looked at his hands again. "Dean?"

Dean raised an eyebrow in acknowledgment.

"I was wondering... You don't have to tell me if you don't want but... I was wondering what happened to your hands."

Sam stiffened then started to shake harder while Dean remained unchanged. "Why?" he asked.

Mary didn't seem to know 'why' herself. "I suppose I'm curious. They look... _painful_."

"Burns generally are," Dean said coldly. He sat back and sighed. He looked over at John and said, "You curious, too?"

John shrugged. "I suppose I am. But that doesn't mean you have to tell us."

"You really don't," Mary said, already regretting asking in the first place.

Dean shrugged. "There was a fire. I put it out. That simple."

Mary and John both thought that it was highly unlikely that it was 'that simple,' but neither of them wanted to pursue it further. Mary stood and grabbed everyone's plates. "I'll take care of these then get ready to leave." She walked into the kitchen and slowly placed them on the counter. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out very slowly. All of this was starting to overwhelm her.

John also stood and said, "Well, boys, ready to watch some football?"

Dean gave John a fake grin and said, "Sure."

---

Mary left about half an hour later. John had the TV turned on and was relaxing in a chair with a cold beer. Dean and Sam were on the couch. Dean was sitting straight, his eyes flickering from the TV, to John, to the beer bottle he was holding. Sam was curled up beside Dean, his head resting on his brother's lap. He was staring at his fingers which were fiddling with Dean's pants.

After a couple hours, John turned off the TV and sighed. Dean immediately tensed and placed a protective arm around his now slumbering brother.

"I think we should talk, Dean."

"About what?" Dean spat. "My scars? Our past homes? Or the weather?"

John shrugged. "Whichever your most comfortable with."

Dean shook his head in exasperation. "Why does it matter?"

John looked down at Sam and asked, "Why doesn't your brother talk?"

Dean glared at John. "Maybe you should read that fucking portfolio that social bitch gave you."

"I did. It didn't tell us much. Just your origins, the names of your previous guardians, and the reasons you were taken from them."

Dean scoffed. "And what _reasons_ did they give you?"

"Mostly that you hurt their other children or them personally. Or there's a couple of them that mistreated you."

Dean chuckled. "Yeah. A 'couple'."

"You disagree?"

Dean gave John an angry look. "I don't know what your intentions are," Dean growled. "But I'm not going along with it."

"My intentions," John said patiently, "are to understand you better. To take care of you properly."

Dean's eyes narrowed. He held out a hand and said, "Wanna shake on it?"

John looked at the hand in surprise. That's not exactly the response he expected out of a teen in Dean's situation. Nevertheless, John leaned forward and took Dean's hand in his and gave it a firm shake.

When their hand came into contact, Dean looked confused. John frowned at the reaction and let go. "You alright, son?"

Dean looked at John and resumed his normal glare. "Fine." He looked back down at his hand and sighed. "So you want to know about us?" John nodded. Dean looked at his hand again and said, "I still don't trust you."

John sighed. "That's alright. I didn't exactly expect you to trust me with just a handshake."

Dean's eyes flickered to John's face, holding a hint of amusement in them. "Well, expectations are often deluding to one's self."

John blinked in surprise. "That's... a very interesting point."

Dean looked down at his brother and sighed. "Can we go back to our room now?"

John slowly nodded. "Of course, sure."

Dean gently slid his hands under Sam's thin body and picked him up with unnatural grace. He held Sam close as he left the living room and walked up the stairs.

---

Mary stumbled in with six gigantic bags of clothing. She placed them down and quickly shed off her coat and placed the Impala's keys in their proper place. "John! Come help me with these, will ya!"

John came in from the kitchen and his eyes widened. "Jeez, how many kids did you buy for?!"

"Just two," Mary said with a smile. "I didn't know what they would like or what exactly would fit them so..."

John opened one of the bags and pulled out an over-sized black t-shirt with an angry Spongebob covered with bling pictured on it. "You must be joking me."

Mary shrugged. "I have other stuff, too. We'll just let the boys decide what they want."

John looked from bag to bag and said, "I think they're gonna be overwhelmed."

"Nonsense! When I was their age -- "

"Sweetie, their _boys_."

Mary frowned. "So?"

John shook his head and smiled. "You are certainly a singular woman."

"Damn straight," she said with a smile. "What about you? How did 'watching football' go?"

"Boring," John said as he grabbed a few of the bags and helped carry them to the kitchen. "Well, not the game itself, but it was boring between the three of us." He placed the bags down next to the refrigerator and sighed. "What happened after was much more interesting."

"What happened after?"

"I tried to get Dean to talk about... _anything._ He asked why I wanted to know and I told him that it was so I could take care of him and his brother better."

"Right..." Mary said, her curiosity piqued.

"And he asked me to shake on it."

Mary raised an eyebrow. "Strange reaction."

"That's what I thought, too. But I shook his hand nonetheless. He looked... confused. Like my hand just wasn't right or something. Then he said he still didn't trust me and asked to go to his room."

"What did Sam do?"

"Ah, Sam was asleep." John sighed. "I'm worried about them, especially Sam. But first we need to gain their trust. Then they'll open up to us and then we can deal with what's what."

"And in the meantime?" Mary asked.

John smiled. "In the meantime..." He bent down and picked up the 'pimp-Spongebob' shirt. "We give them their new clothes.

* * *

**Well...? Whaddya think? Is it what you expected? Better? Worse?**** Serious, review and let me know EXACTLY what you think.**

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**PLEASE REVIEW! THE DRAGON'S HUNGRY!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**I am OVERWHELMED by the support i'm getting for this story! Thank you all so much!  
**

**Things are a little slow at the moment, but I'm trying to make this fic realistic, so please try and be patient XD**

**I just want to let you guys know, that Sam's behavior might seem a bit strange because he's slightly autistic in this fic. Also, I'm not _completely_ clear on how they might act, so if some of you know autistic kids and think "Sam shouldn't be acting like that," please just let me know and I'll try and improve :)  
**

**Enjoy chapter four!  
**

* * *

John and Mary carried the bags of clothing upstairs to the boys' room. John softly knocked on their door. "Boys? Mary's back, and she has some clothes for you."

For a moment there was silence. Then there was a soft 'alright.'

John opened the door and he and Mary entered. Dean was in his usual spot in front of his brother while Sam was awake and huddled behind Dean. John and Mary sat the clothes down on the floor in front of them.

"I wasn't sure what would fit you or what you wanted," Mary said, "So I just bought everything. You can look through them and choose what you want."

Dean stared at the bags, face devoid of expression. "Okay," he said. "I'll look through them."

Mary smiled. Nothing happened until Mary realized that Dean meant for them to leave. Mary sighed and said, "Just call me if you two need anything."

"We won't," Dean said.

Mary nodded, clearly disappointed. She turned and left the room. John turned to follow but stopped at the doorway. "We're probably going to do something tomorrow."

Dean nodded. "We'll be fine."

"No…" John turned back around. "I mean 'we' as in Mary and I and you two."

Dean frowned suspiciously. "And what exactly are you going to do?" he asked carefully.

"I dunno... go to a movie, go the park... do you or Sam want to do anything in particular?"

Dean shook his head. "We have no problem staying right here."

John sighed. "You know, it's not healthy for you guys to stay cooped up in this room all the time."

"And sometimes it's not healthy to leave," Dean shot back.

John kept his stoic expression steady. "If we decide to go out, you will come with us."

"Says who?" Dean challenged.

"You're only fourteen, and your brother's only ten. It would be irresponsible of us to let you two stay here alone."

"I'm almost fifteen and perfectly capable of looking after my brother and myself."

"I don't doubt it." Leaving the argument there, John left the room, closing the door behind him.

---

Dean continued to glare at the closed door, silently fuming. He couldn't _believe_ this! Go out? Go out and do what? Pretend to be a family? Be shown off as their new kids? _Look at us! We're so _**_charitable_ **_to take in these poor kids!_ Dean shook his head angrily. He refused to be used or shown off as props, so matter how _innocent_ or _harmless_ it seemed...!

A small, shaky tug on his shirt broke Dean out of his silent rant. He turned himself around towards his brother, who was staring into space with large, fearful eyes. His body was shaking, and he was starting to break out in a sweat. He suddenly reached out and grasped one of Dean's hands. He flipped it faced-up and slowly pressed its palm to his forehead, leaning heavily into it and starting to rock back and forth.

Dean watched his brother sadly. He could feel Sam's hands shaking against his and the wetness of tears falling down onto his fingers. He placed a hand on the back of Sam's head and gently ran his fingers through Sam's dirty, matted hair. "It's alright, Sam," Dean whispered. He closed his eyes and leaned forward, placing his forehead against the top of Sam's head. _How am I supposed to help you? There's a lot of things I don't want to do, especially with these Winchesters, but I'd gladly do all of them to just hear you _speak _again..._

---

"What was that about?" Mary asked.

"What was what about?" John said distractedly.

Mary was leaning against the hood of the Impala while John was rolled underneath, doing more repairs. Mary loved the Impala almost as much as John, but the _constant_ repairs were so annoying and just a tad _expensive_.

"You know what I mean," Mary said. "After we gave them their clothes. You stayed for a moment longer. I heard you and Dean talking. What did you guys say?"

John sighed. "I suggested we all go out tomorrow and do something. Dean said if we do, they're gonna stay behind in the house. I told them I couldn't allow that because it's kinda not allowed."

"So we're not gonna do anything?"

"I didn't say that." John rolled back out and gave a small grunt as he scrunched his abs and pulled himself into sitting position. He wiped his hands off as he said, "I think we should all go out to dinner and a movie."

Mary smiled but quickly tried to hide it. She was so excited at the prospect of going out with the boys and doing things and interacting with them, but at the same time, she was pensive at the boy's reactions. "Are you sure we should be taking them out so soon?"

"If they insist on staying in their room, isolated and alone, then there isn't going to be any progress. But we nudge them in the real world, we'll be able to see their reactions, and maybe start to help them."

Mary didn't really understand the logic, but she trusted her husband and his experience.

---

Dean was looking through the clothing, a little appalled by some (Punk-Spongebob? Seriously?) and finding others adequate. As Dean chose what clothing they were going to keep, Sam was neatly folding them and sorting them by color, size, and shape.

"We really need a shower," Dean murmured. He sighed as he stuffed the remaining clothing back into their respective bags, only to have Sam dump them out and start folding and sorting them. After Sam was done, he put the clothing neatly back in the bags.

Dean smiled and wrapped an arm around Sam's shoulders. "Neat freak."

Sam smiled as he curled up in his brother's lap. Dean placed an arm over Sam's body, taking Sam's small hand in his and gently rubbing it.

The clothes that they had decided to keep turned out to be a small pile of jeans, plain t-shirts and plaid button-ups. There was only a couple sets worth of clothing for each of them, but it would certainly do for now.

"Boys?" The door opened and Mary's head popped in. She looked a little surprised to find all the clothes folded and neat, but she quickly shook it off. "We're gonna have lunch soon. Do you have any preferences for sandwiches?"

Dean shook his head. "Can we use the shower?"

"Sure!" Mary opened the door all the way and pointed down the hallway. "The bathrooms just down the hallway next to the linen closet. There should be towels and shampoo for you in there already."

Dean gave a halfhearted smile. "Thanks."

Mary's heart practically soared. "Anytime, sweetie!" Mary turned and felt like _skipping_ down the stairs.

Once he was sure Mary was gone, Dean got up, took Sam's hand, and led him to the bathroom she indicated. Once he was inside, he closed the door behind him and locked it. Then he turned on the water, pointing the arrow towards 'hot'.

While the water was warming up, Dean started to strip and told Sam to do the same. Once the water was warm, they stepped into the shower together.

Wanting to make the shower as short as possible, he mainly focused on making sure Sam cleaned himself. Dean figured the water would be able to rinse off a good amount of grime on him just by being under the spray.

As he helped Sam clean his back, he tried to be as gentle and careful as possible, trying not to irritate Sam's still-sensitive skin. He ran a hand over Sam's bumpy back, memories coming back to haunt him. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. No. He couldn't dwell on it. Sam's fine, and now they're here, with problems _here_.

---

The rest of the day past uneventfully. When they had lunch, it was the same routine as before. Dean eating a little and Sam mimicking him.

Mary spent the afternoon and early evening returning the clothes the Dean said they didn't want and bought more t-shirts and plaid button-ups. John contented himself with watching football while Sam and Dean stayed in their room.

That evening, when they were all at the dinner table, John paused in his eating and said, "We're going out to dinner and a movie tomorrow. As a family."

Dean stopped in his eating and glared at John. "What if we don't want to?"

"Too bad. You're part of this family now and you will do things like movies and going out with us." John sighed. "Now we can see the new Batman movie, or maybe that dinosaur movie... what's it called... oh yeah! Jurassic Park!"

Dean continued to glare at the man. As John continued to discuss possible movies to see with his wife, Dean closed his eyes and clenched his fist hard, angry that that he had no control over the situation.

"What about it, guys?" John asked the brothers. "What do you want to see?"

Dean sagged in his chair and sighed. "Batman," he murmured reluctantly.

John smiled. "Alright. Batman it is!"

---

The next evening, they left at five to go to have dinner at a place called Fuddruckers. Dean gave the building a look of disbelief when he saw the sign, and unconsciously held Sam closer.

Mary noticed Dean's reaction and smiled. "I know. Weird place. Weird name, too. They even label their mustard 'Mother Fuddrucker.' But they have _great_ bacon cheese burgers!"

John parked and they all got out. Sam looked around, noticed all the people, and immediately buried his face into Dean's chest, his thin body trembling with fear. Dean placed and hand on Sam's back and on the back of his head, holding Sam close.

John and Mary were standing a couple yards away, watching the scene carefully. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Mary asked her husband.

"They're going to have to learn how to be in the real world somehow."

"But they're just children, John!"

"And what about when we need to go out for clothing? Or food? Or someone comes over? They need to learn how to deal with new situations like this."

Mary sighed and looked back at the boys. Dean was whispering something in Sam's ear, rubbing small circles into his back. A few moments later, Sam pulled himself away from Dean's chest, but still stayed glued to his side as they made their way to the restaurant.

---

To all of their relief, dinner passed without much incident. Dean kept Sam right in front of him the entire time, making sure everyone stayed a good three feet away with a good glare. As Mary watched them, she could almost imagine Dean with wings. She could almost perfectly imagine them folded around Sam for further protection against the world.

When they sat down to eat, Sam was practically in Dean's lap, his eyes getting worriedly glassier and more unfocused as time went on.

It was a sigh of relief when they all came out of Fuddruckers. Sam had his brother's shirt in such a death grip, that Dean just picked him up and carried him to the car. It looked a bit _strange_ watching a fourteen-year-old carrying a ten-year-old, but Mary and John didn't dare question it or try to help Dean with the load.

They went to a six-thirty showing of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. During the movie, Mary constantly shifted her eyes to the boys. Dean was sitting next to her, while Sam was sitting on the same seat between Dean's legs. Dean had his arms protectively wrapped around his brother, his chin resting on Sam's head.

During some of the more scary parts, Mary expected Sam to get scared. But he didn't. He watched the entire movie with a never-changing look of curiosity.

As the credits started to roll and the lights came back on in the theater, John stood and stretched, his back feeling stiff from sitting so long. "That wasn't that bad for a kid's movie," he commented. The turned to Sam and Dean, who were standing up and also stretching. "What did you guys think?"

Dean looked at John for a moment, clearly surprised by the question. Then he smiled, actually _smiled._ "I thought it pretty good, too," he said quietly.

John smiled back. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." John looked down at Sam and said, "What about you, buddy? What did you think?"

Sam was looking around the theater, showing no sign of hearing John's question. John sighed. _I need to do some research on autism_. "Alright, let's go."

John led they way, followed closely by Mary and the boys. Mary wasn't showing it, but she was _thrilled _with John and Dean's exchange. They seemed to be definitely making progress as far as getting him settled. But it also made it more evident that Sam was going to be a greater challenge.

On the way out the theater, there was some spilled soda. Not seeing the puddle, Sam mis-stepped, slipped and fell to the ground. When he landed on his hands on knees, tears welled in his eyes and he started to tremble again. Dean knelt beside him and tried to help Sam stand, but Sam seemed to have gone stiff with fear.

John frowned as he watched Dean try to get Sam to stand. Sam's eyes were wide and fearful, as if he was expected something awful to happen. Dean was muttering reassurances, pulling Sam up with some form of fearful haste, but nothing was breaking through Sam's sudden catatonia. Dean himself seemed fearful of the situation and tried harder to get Sam to stand.

John rushed up to the brothers. Neither boy noticed his arrival, both seemingly too frightened. Without thinking John said, "Sam, are you alright?" and instinctively placed a hand on his shoulder for comfort.

That's when all hell broke loose.

* * *

**Well...? Whaddya think? Is it what you expected? Better? Worse?**** Serious, review and let me know EXACTLY what you think.**

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	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**I am OVERWHELMED by the support i'm getting for this story! Thank you all so much!**

**NEW EP OF SPN ON THURSDAY!!!!  
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**I think this chapter is just a tad shorter than my previous chapters, but it's a pretty intense one and i thought it was a good place to stop...  
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**Enjoy chapter five!  
**

* * *

_He sat in the back of the closet, shivering from fear and the cold. He heard a loud thump and knew that his father was home._

_"WHE-EEERE'S THAAAA' LI'LL BRAAT!" a loud voice slurred._

_He flinched and curled in further on himself as he heard his father arguing with his mother._

_"DONNN' GIVE MEEEE ORRRRD'RS YA BITCH!"_ _The sounds of fists beating on flesh could be heard._

_He silently cried, fearing and knowing he would be next to suffer the consequences of his father's drinking._

_And sure enough, a few minutes later, the closet door was flung open to reveal his father. Drunk, red-eyed, and dirty. "You fugcking braaat..." He grabbed the sobbing boy by his collar and slapped him hard across the face. "Wha's this I heeear 'bout steeealing..." He threw the child against the wall and kicked him hard in the side._

_"I-I d-didn't..." he stammered out. "Pl-lease, D-Daddy..."_

_"Path-h-hetic runt." He kicked the boy again before leaving the room and slamming the door behind him._

_He remained where he lay, too scared and too hurt to do anything but to silently sob._

_---  
_  
Sam's eyes widened as he let out a high-pitched scream. Dean immediately swung a fist at John's face, knocking the man backwards. He got up, grabbed John by the throat, and pinned him to the wall.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HIM!" Dean yelled at John face as he pounded John's body against the wall.

Mary quickly ran up to Sam, who was curled up and shaking hard. He was whimpering desperately and his eyes were darting everywhere, as if looking for an unseen enemy. Mary wanted to touch Sam, hold him, comfort him, but at the moment, she didn't dare.

Dean raised a fist and started to slam it into John's face. "JUST STAY AWAY, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!

"John!" Mary screamed.

John quickly raised his arms and dislodged Dean's hold before he got his third punch in. Using a surprising amount of speed and agility, he grabbed Dean's arms, pulled them behind his back and pinned him to the wall. "I suggest you calm down," John growled in Dean's ear.

Dean bucked and pulled on John's hold, but couldn't get free of the bigger man. "Screw you, you bastard..." Dean seethed.

A few people were watching the scene unfold before them. John noticed this and said, "You need to calm down, Dean. You need to take care of your brother."

Dean stiffened and John knew he hit the nail on the head. Dean turned his head, straining his neck to see his brother. John let go when he was sure that Dean wasn't going to attack him again.

As soon as John let go, Dean ran to his brother and quickly scooped him up in his arms. "Get back!" Dean growled at Mary, who was sitting too close to Sam for Dean's liking. Mary swallowed hard and nodded, taking a few steps back.

Sam was shaking hard, his eyes glassy and staring out into space. When Dean wrapped his arms around him, Sam instinctively grasped Dean's shirt and tried to pull his brother closer. Dean started to stroke Sam's hair in an almost desperate manner, all the while murmuring meaningless words of comfort.

John walked up to Mary, who was watching the brothers with a worried gaze. She jumped a little when he placed a hand on her shoulder. John was looking around at the increasing crowd. "We need to get out of here," he said.

---

They managed to coax Dean into carrying his brother to the car. But once they got inside, Dean used his entire body to block Sam from John and Mary's view, all the while, glaring daggers at them.

John occasionally pulled his eyes away from the road to look at the brothers. Each time he was met with a murderous gaze. Eventually he sighed. "When we get back, we have a lot to talk about."

Dean scoffed. "Don't bother," he said bitterly. "We've heard it all already."

John shook his head. "Just you saying that makes it more imperative to me that we talk."

When they pulled up to the house, John and Mary quickly got out, followed by a cautious Dean. Dean barely took his glare off them as he got out of the car, only diverting his attention when he was pulling his brother out of the car.

Mary and John led the way to their house, Dean slowly following. Whatever awaited them when they got inside, he was not to anxious to get there. He looked down at his brother, who was still catatonic, still shaking, and still clutching Dean's shirt desperately. In a way, Dean was relieved they were almost back at the house. As small as Sam was for his age, he was still pretty big, and Dean's arms were starting to hurt. But then again, the sooner they get there, they sooner they'd have to _talk_. And Dean knows what happens after that.

When they were inside, Dean started to walk to the staircase.

"Dean," John said. Dean stopped in his tracks. He remained facing the stairs as John continued. "We really _do _need to talk about what happened at the theater."

"Nothing happened," Dean said. "Sam just panicked when you touched him."

"Bull," John growled. "I saw something when I touched him. Something he seemed to see as well."

Mary looked at her husband with a bewildered look. "What are you talking about, John?"

John gave Dean a knowing look. "You know what I'm talking about, don't ya Dean?"

Dean held Sam tighter. He closed his eyes and sighed. _I guess there's no escaping it now. _Dean slowly turned around and faced the Winchesters with a glare. "So how exactly do you want to do this?"

---

John and Mary sat side by side on the couch. John was stoic, watching the brothers carefully. Mary was worried, apprehensive, and if she was honest with herself, a little scared.

Dean was sitting on a chair opposite of them. At this point, Sam was a little bit more aware now, but all he did was situate himself to wrap his skinny arms around his brother and bury his face into the side of Dean's neck. Dean has his arms around Sam, squeezing him tightly for comfort.

"Why don't you start with what the hell happened back there?" John said.

Dean glared at John. "Do want the fabricated-fantasy version or the maybe-believable one?" he spat.

"The truth would be nice," John snapped back.

Dean scoffed. "You can't _handle_ the truth. I know you think you can. But you can't. No one can. I've learned that the hard way."

"Dean, sweetie," Mary said, "We only want to help."

"Can you get rid of emotions!?" Dean yelled. "Can you get rid of memories!? How the hell do you expect to _help_!?"

Sam started to whimper as Dean started to yell. When he realized he was causing his brother distress, Dean immediately stopped yelling and squeezed his brother tighter, causing Sam's whimpers to stop.

"Just tell us what happened, Dean," John said.

Dean sighed and closed his eyes. Tell them. Just like he ended up telling everyone else in the end. It was a never-ending cycle that he just couldn't escape. He opened his eyes again and watched the Winchesters carefully. They seemed so normal, but he's seen normal turn ugly too many times to really trust them. But then again, what choice did they have?

_None_, a haunted voice whispered to him.

Dean sighed. "The memories and feelings you don't want to remember are the ones that always stay with you," Dean started. "Memories of death, violence, rejection... everything that ever made you feel like shit." Dean took a deep breath. "When Sam is in contact with someone, he makes that person relive those memories. In turn, he also experiences them as that person does. I seem to be the only exception to that."

Mary's eyes widened. "An empath."

"I guess," Dean said. "More like a fucking curse."

John stared at the ground for a moment. "If I didn't experience it myself, I wouldn't believe you."

Dean gave John an amused smile. "Well... you have."

"When did it start?" Mary asked.

Dean looked at Mary. "It didn't start. It's always _been_. Ever since Sam was born. I don't know why or how."

Mary gave Dean a curious look. "What about you?"

Dean frowned. "What about me?"

"Now that I think about it... You've shaken both of our hands. The first time you said it was to introduce yourself. The second time you said you wanted my husband to shake on the fact that he wanted to help you. At the time, when John told me about it, I thought it was a strange reaction for you to have, given the circumstances at the time."

Dean bit his lip, his eyes quickly swiveling from Mary to John, then back to Mary. _Jeez... none of the other foster people caught on this fast._

"Are you an empath as well?" Mary asked.

Dean swallowed hard before answering. "Again, I can only guess."

John frowned. "What do you mean by _that_?"

Dean sighed. "As a species, it's instinct to be selfish. It takes a certain amount of stress on the brain, a certain amount of energy to do or think something selfless. I can sense this."

"Wait," John said, "So you can sense when people intend _good_?"

Dean shook his head, a little annoyed at how naive these people were. "Not 'good' in the way you're thinking of it. Simply put, I can sense people's selfless intentions towards me. If I don't sense anything, they usually have ill intent."

Mary sat back on the couch, trying to absorb the information. "So while you brother sees bad, you see good."

Dean sighed in frustration. "No! It's not that simple! We can sense certain brain functions. Depending on how you're feeling and what you're thinking, you body sends out certain chemical, like a pheromone. _I_ can sense certain forms of these chemicals when they're directed at me. _Memories _are generally stored through out your entire brain, however its all based on chemicals and electrical impulses. I assume Sam can sense a certain form of them. He somehow enhances it and it results in a flashback-like state where they both relive the most vivid of memories. Unfortunately I have not met a single person whose most vivid memories are not... painful ones, for lack of a better term."

Mary blinked hard and shook her head. "I think I like the 'super-power' explanation better."

Dean rolled his eyes. "For god's sake..."

"So when I touched Sam..." John thought aloud, "I relieved one of my worst memories. And so did Sam." John looked up and stared at Sam's form. "And that's why he was so scared."

Dean unconsciously held Sam tighter and nodded. "There's a reason we've been kicked out of twelve foster homes."

For several minutes, they sat in silence, all lost in their own thoughts. Then Mary cleared her throat and said, "I think we should _all_ go to bed. It's been a long day."

Dean nodded and quickly carried his brother upstairs. Mary and John continued to sit on the couch, lost in their thoughts again.

"John?" Mary said tentatively.

John raised his eyebrows. "Hmm?"

"What did you see when Sam touched you?"

For a moment John didn't give any sign he heard the question. Then he stood and offered a hand to his wife. "It doesn't matter."

Mary sighed as she took the offered hand and stood. "It'd be nice if you trusted me."

"It's not a matter of trust. Just whether or not I want to talk about it. And I don't."

Mary rested a hand on John's face. Then she slowly leaned forward and kissed him. John wrapped his arms around her and held her close. After a minute, Mary broke the kiss and rest her head under John's chin against his chest. "What are we gonna do now?"

"About the boys?"

Mary nodded.

John placed his cheek on the top of Mary's head and sighed. "We'll figure it out in the morning."

* * *

**Well...? Whaddya think? Is it what you expected? Better? Worse?**** Serious, review and let me know EXACTLY what you think.**

**Are you confused? If you are THAT'S OKAY! Go ahead and ask questions. I might not answer all of them, because this chapter was supposed to be a mite confusing :P  
**

**PLEASE REVIEW! THE DRAGON'S HUNGRY!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**I am OVERWHELMED by the support i'm getting for this story! Over a hundred and fifty reviews after only five chapters!? I'm so flattered! Thank you all so much!**

**As I said before, I'm much more busy now, so my updates are slowing. I don't know when my next one will be, so I hope this holds you over until then XD  
**

**PrinsessSugars111:**** I have to say, I have mixed feelings about your review. First of all, I want to tell you that I don't generally put a TON of effort in how my FF stories are written because most of my writing focus is on the stories I write for myself. FF is my 'junk writing' or my 'have fun' writing. So yes, I'm FULLY aware that my other stories aren't well written, because I really didn't give a flip. But I really planned this story out, so I decided to actually put effort in how it's written. ****I have never actually taken a writing/journalism class. I personally believe that a writer's style should be born from her/himself and they should improve on their own accord. (or if you're JK Rowling, do successfully and still suck :P) **** Also, you should know, that a ton of description doesn't necessarily mean great writing. CS Lewis uses very little description and he's an AMAZING writer. I have to admit, I was a bit pissed reading your review, though I don't really know why. i dont' mind people telling me I suck, or I'm an awful writer, yada yada yada. Once I was accused of plagerizm, but it didnt' really bother me because I knew they were wrong and I really didn't care. But as pissed as I was reading your review, I wouldn't mind getting more like it if that's how you feel. I just wanted to respond to your review, because it did bug me a little.**

**Anyway, sorry to everyone else for that little (uh.... make that long) rant. :P**

**Okay, not a lot happens in this chapter... but it's long because the way I'm writing the story has changed now that you all know more XD But if you think there's too much description, or if you don't like it for some reason, just let me know :)**

**Thank you everyone for you input on autism! It's greatly appreciated XD**

**BTW!!! IMPORTANT! This is NOT WINCEST! There's a small part in this chapter that might allude to that, but it's NOT!  
**

**Enjoy chapter six!  
**

* * *

It was close to three in the morning and both boys were sitting silently on the bed. Sam was curled up between Dean's legs, leaning heavily against his chest, resting his head on his shoulder. His eyes were wide and unfocused, his body trembling. Dean had his arms wrapped tightly around his brother, resting his cheek on the top of Sam's head.

Dean's chest clenched and unclenched repeatedly as he tried to numb Sam's terror. He was radiating fear, pain, and despair, all of which were lashing out in invisible waves. Dean squeezed his brother tighter, desperately trying to absorb the painful feelings.

Sam closed his eyes as the pressure from his brother's arms minutely calmed his trembles. A tear fell silently down his face as he turned his head into his brother's neck. He could feel Dean's fear; his fear for Sam and of the Winchesters. Sam tried to lean deeper against Dean's chest and neck, hoping to comfort his brother at least a little. Sam felt a little gratitude emanate from his bother, but the fear was still there.

"It's okay," Dean whispered. He placed a hand on the back of Sam's head and stroked the silky curls. "_I'm_ okay..."

Sam grabbed Dean's shirt and pulled it towards him, the little separation between himself and his brother stifling him.

Realizing what his brother was doing, Dean sat up straight and helped his brother take off his shirt, followed by his own. Sam quickly leaned back in against Dean's naked chest, a spark of familiar comfort igniting against both of their skins. Dean wrapped his arms tightly around his brother, wincing inward slightly at the feeling of scar tissue against his arms. The skin on skin contact gave birth to a comforting warmth in both of their minds and bodies. All their emotions and thoughts merged, twisting and turning together until they simply lost themselves in each other, and became a single unit.

As morning light began to appear, the brother's were asleep, their beings one, and temporarily at peace.

---

John yawned and stretched in bed. He rolled over, attempting to wrap his arm around his wife, when he realized he was alone in the bed. Frowning slightly, he rubbed his eyes and stretched again, trying to wake himself up enough to pull himself out of bed.

Rubbing a hand over his face and groaning slightly, he sat up and sighed. Vague parts of the newest discovery about the boys began to come back to his concious thought. He stared at the floor for a moment, quickly thinking through what he learned last night and trying to decide what to do.

_Argh... It's too much... I at least need to have my coffee first_. Yawning again, he grabbed his robe and headed downstairs. As he slowly stumbled down the stairs, he could already smell coffee coming from the kitchen.

Mary looked up as her husband entered, droopy eyed and grumbling. She smiled. "'Morning."

John gave Mary a questioning look. She was sitting at the kitchen table, laptop and notepaper resting in front of her. "You're up early."

Mary shrugged. "Couldn't sleep." She nodded towards the kitchen. "I set out a mug for you by the sink."

John smiled as he walked into the kitchen and picked up the mentioned mug. "I knew I married you for a reason."

Mary scoffed. "Yes," she said. "Everyone knows you married me so I could make you _coffee_ in the mornings."

John walked up behind Mary and planted a soft kiss on her head. "Nah, you're right. We all know it's because of the great sex you give." Mary hit John on the arm, but didn't deny it or stop smiling. John looked down at the computer screen as he sipped his coffee. "Research?"

"Yeah..." Mary set her pencil down and sighed. "There's a lot of stuff about empathy and so forth, but a lot of it's bullshit. There were a few legitimate websites, but they didn't give any info that might help." Mary grabbed her notepaper and held it up. "And this is what I've got about autism, though."

John grabbed the notes and skimmed them. "Damn..."

"Of course, I have no idea how an _abused_ autistic child who's an _empath_ is going to act and so forth... but it's a start."

John gave a small laugh. "You are amazing..."

Mary shook her head. "No, I'm just desperate. I want to help these boys, so _badly..._ just the thought of what they've been through..."

John sat down next to his wife and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I think Dean already trusts us to an extent. He did tell us about what they can do..."

Mary frowned. "That actually bugs me. He's obviously wasn't thrilled about telling us, so why did he collapse so easily? He must have known that he could have kept it secret longer if he wanted to... That we wouldn't have forced him."

John shrugged. "Then again, with what he can do, he might have seen the situation differently."

Mary leaned forward and rubbed her temples hard. "It's all just so _confusing_..."

John put his coffee down and started to rub Mary's shoulders. Her neck and back muscles were taut under his fingers. Mary sighed in contentment at the soothing touch. Her muscles soon started to relax and loosen up. "I think we should see this woman."

John paused in his massage. "What woman?"

Mary sat back up and grabbed one of her notes. "Missouri Mosely."

John looked at the notes and scoffed. "A psychic?"

Mary shrugged. "I don't think..."

"You realize she's probably just a con-artist making up a bunch of bullshit?"

Mary looked at her husband imploringly. "Yes, but what if she's not?"

John shook his head, taking another swig of his coffee. "I don't believe in that BS." He got up as he finished his cup of coffee and walked towards the kitchen.

Mary stood and followed, not letting the issue go. "And before last night, would you believe that a ten-year-old boy could see people's memories with a touch?"

John was rinsing out the mug when he froze, the cold water continuing to run over the warm ceramic. The memory of his father beating him flashed momentarily before it disappeared back in the depths of his mind where it belonged. He continued to rinse out the mug. "That's beside the point."

"The hell, it isn't!" Mary yanked the mug from his hands and turned off the water. "Look at me."

John sighed and turned, staring straight into his wife's eyes. "What?" he said, trying to look annoyed.

Mary shook her head. "Don't give me that." She waved the paper with the psychic's information on it. "This could help the boys if she is who she says she is. And if she's not -- " Mary shrugged. "Where's the harm?"

"That's my point," John said. "With the little we know about these kids, we don't know how they'll react to... anything!"

"We need _help_, John! We can't do this on our own. Usually I'd want to send them to couselors to help with Sam's autism and Dean's apparent temper problem. But we _can't_ because of who and what they are!"

"And what are they!?" John shot back. "Freaks? Psychics? Mutants? They're _children_."

Mary blinked, angry and a little hurt that her husband assumed she meant ill of the boys. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

John sighed. "I know." He shook his head and gave a bitter laugh. "I hate this."

Mary smiled in understanding. She wrapped her arms around John's and rested her head on his shoulder. "It's okay to need help."

John clenched his jaw and shook his head. "Not when it comes to this. I mean, if these are supposed to be our _children_, aren't we supposed to be able to provide everything they need without anybody else's help?"

"John, most parents have outside help, of one form or another. By asking, you're not failing as a parent."

John smiled. Sometimes it was scary how well his wife could read him. He ran a hand through her hair and said, "I love you, Mary."

Mary smiled. "I love you too, you big doof."

---

It was getting close to noon when Sam and Dean came downstairs. Sam had both Dean's hand and shirt in a death grip, his eyes wandering around the floor in front of him. Dean stood solidly in front of Sam, watching the Winchesters carefully.

John and Mary were sitting at a table, half-eaten sandwiches on plates in front of them.

"Morning, you two," Mary said. John winced at the too-cheerfulness of her voice. "You guys hungry?"

Dean looked at Mary for a moment, as if examining her, before giving a small nod.

"Alright." Mary stood and went to the kitchen to make a couple more sandwiches.

John indicated the chairs on the opposite side of the table. "Have a seat, boys."

Dean's eyes narrowed at John's tone. "We're fine standing," he said.

"We're not gonna hurt you," John assured.

Dean's eyes swiveled from the kitchen where Mary was to John. For a moment, John thought Dean was going to snap again. But then Dean slowly led Sam to the other side of the table, sat on a chair, and helped Sam climb onto his lap. Sam leaned into his brother's chest, burying his face into Dean's shoulder as Dean wrapped his arms tightly around Sam. It was awkward looking because of Sam's age and size, but understandable. Dean was obviously more protective now that John and Mary knew about them.

For the next couple minutes, John and Dean simply looked at each other. John trying to word his thoughts correctly before saying them, and Dean watching John carefully, trying to deduce what John's intentions were without actually touching him.

Mary came back in with two plates, both containing a turkey sandwich. She paused when she saw the position the brothers were in, but quickly covered up her surprise by giving a large smile and placing the plates down in front of them. "Eat up," she said as she took her seat next to her husband.

Dean kept his eyes on the Winchesters as he turned his head slightly towards his brother's and placed a hand on the back of Sam's head. Sam lifted his head from Dean's shoulder and looked down at the table at the plates.

Sam felt Dean's small mental nudge of encouragement. Dean could feel Sam's emptiness and knew that Sam didn't want to eat, as usual. So he picked up one of the sandwiches, silently egging Sam to do the same. At this point, it was second nature. He reached across the strong mental link between them and nudged Sam's arm forward. Sam easily let Dean's thoughts guide him as he slowly reached for the sandwich. He felt Dean's approval and continued to follow Dean's mental nudges and prods, feeling almost estatic at the constant approval Dean sent as he did so.

From John and Mary's stand point, Sam was simply mimicking Dean's movements, as he's done with every meal previously.

---

"We need to talk," Mary said once it was clear that the boys were done eating.

Dean looked at Mary with a calculating gaze. "About last night?"

"Yes..." Mary bit her lip as she reconsidered. "Sort of."

Dean frowned. "Meaning...?"

Mary looked at her husband. John nodded and said, "We're going to see someone. Someone we hope will be able to help."

Dean flinched at the word 'help.' It's been used way too many times in the past for him to assume its actual meaning. "What exactly do you mean by 'help'?"

"Well... she's a psychic. At least, we assume she is."

Dean scoffed. "Yeah... and what are you going to do when she suggests that we should be exorcised?"

John frowned. "You've seen a psychic before?"'

Dean gave John a look of disbelief. "Having lived in a dozen homes, you don't think any of them have tried to 'help'?"

Mary's chest clenched as she caught Dean's meaning. "You mean someone's tried to exorcise you before?"

Dean gave a bitter smile. "Well, that was _one_ of the ways people have tried to help."

Mary felt tears well in her eyes as she momentarily imagined what that must have been like for them, but quickly blinked her tears away, knowing it was not her place, nor the time to do so.

"We're not going to exorcise you," John assured. "We'll do whatever seems reasonable. If this psychic turns out to be a whack-job, which chances are she _is,_ then we'll trying to help you ourselves."

Dean shook his head. "Why can't you just leave us alone? We're fine without your _'help_' or _support_.

"We're obligated to clothe you, feed you, and take care of your well-being," John said. "Not just one or two of those, but all three. Letting you two isolate yourselves in that room is _not_ taking care of your well-being."

Dean started to shake. Sam took in a shaky breath as he felt his brother's fear and anger suddenly increase. "You can't make us go," Dean said in a dangerously low tone. "Not without considerable force, that is."

"Do you want us to test that?"

Mary looked at her husband in surprise. "John..." She stopped when John placed hand on her hand. John never looked away from Dean.

Dean's fingers started to clench and unclench, the sudden need to bash John's head in becoming overpowering.

Sam lightly whimpered at Dean's violent thoughts. He tried to calm Dean down, but his thoughts were easily drowned out by the sudden anger flooding Dean's mind. Remembering all the other times Dean lost control and fearing for his brother's safety and sanity, Sam started to cry, pressing his frail fists hard against Dean's ribs in frustration.

The small pain against his chest and the stark desperate fear glazing over his mind made Dean blink in momentary surprise. His anger wavered enough for him to realize it was Sam. Realizing what was wrong, he quickly pushed his anger down, deep into his chest until it was just a heavy tense stone above his heart. He quickly reassured Sam, giving a small smile when he felt Sam's hesitant sense of questioning, followed by a wave of relief. Sam's cries slowed to a small hiccuping, and his fists went back to simply holding onto Dean's shirt.

Dean looked up at the Winchesters, tossing Sam's sanity and the likelihood of ill-intent from the Winchesters in his head. They certainly haven't shown any ill-intent yet, but it could always show up later when they least expect it. On the other hand, Dean didn't know of anyway to prevent John from forcing them without using force himself. But if he lost control completely...

_I can't do that to Sam again._ Dean sighed. He closed his eyes and shook his head, certain that he was going to regret this. "So when do we go?"

* * *

**Well...? Whaddya think? Is it what you expected? Better? Worse?**** Serious, review and let me know EXACTLY what you think.**

**Just to let you know, the flow of the story is dependent slightly on the reviews. Small tidbitds of the story are written in answer to or changed because of your reviews. For example, a lot of you thought Dean caved too fast. So, Mary and John think so as well and there'll be an explanation later on. So in other words keep reviewing! Not only do I love them, the make the story even better! XD  
**

**PLEASE REVIEW! THE DRAGON'S HUNGRY!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**GEEZUS! Over 200 reviews?!?! OMG, thank you all so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it!**

**Sorry so much for the delay! I've been unbelieveably busy lately! This chapter isn't as long as my others, but I really wanted to update :P  
**

**I have mixed feelings this chapter, so please review and let me know what you think!**

**Okay, *no spoilers here*, but I have something to say about the Season 4 finale. OH MY FUCKING GOD! That was amazing! Yay for brotherly love!  
**

**Enjoy chapter seven!  
**

* * *

_I can't believe we're doing this_, Dean thought as they drove to the psychic's place. _Haven't I learned by now? Psychics are superstitious douche bags, who think the darkest answer is always the best one. What if these Winchesters are like the McSanburns? What if…?_

Dean closed his eyes and stopped thinking about it. _Just take it as it comes. Thinking about the 'what if's is not going to help_.

Dean held Sam closer to himself. He could feel a small fear from his brother, born from morbid curiosity and anticipation. He slowly placed a hand on the side of Sam's head and pulled him closer so he could bury his face in Sam's hair. He silently reassured Sam, projecting feelings of confidence and determination.

The vintage car came to a shuddering stop, breaking the brother's from their mental communication.

"We're here," John said.

Dean glared at the house they were parked in front of. It seemed normal enough, but that usually meant there was more to fear.

The front door opened and a nervous looking teenage girl walked out, followed by a plump, stout woman. The girl was smiling and saying something to the woman. The woman responded by patting the girl on the shoulder and egging her out. The girl smiled again and walked down the driveway to her pale blue Audi.

Once the girl left, the woman looked over at the Impala and gave a scolding look. She brought an arm up and beckoned them to come over. Then without a second glance, she walked back in her house and shut the door.

Mary and John gave each other skeptic looks. They were both starting to regret this, but they were also both determined to help the brothers in some way.

"Let's go," John said. He and his wife got out of the car and waited for Dean and Sam to follow.

A dark pit formed in Dean's stomach at the thought of what might happen. The mental bond had fear flowing in both directions, exponentially increasing the feeling darkness in both of them.

Dean closed his eyes and sighed. Again, he wished he could just run away with Sam. Get a job, get a place for just the two of them and make their own way. He's tried... several times. Each time making the situation worse instead of better when CPS was sent after them or their current 'parents' found them.

He just hated feeling so _trapped_.

Dean bit his lip as he looked back up at the Winchesters and the psychic's house. _I'll find a way out of this life... I will._ He held Sam's hand tightly as he pushed the seat in front of him forward and climbed out of the car.

---

Missouri smiled as the family walked in. However her smile faltered when a wave of fear and _power_ overwhelmed her sense. And what surprised her even more, was the source of these feelings.

"Hello," Missouri said. She held a hand out and said, "My name is Missouri Mosely."

Mary smiled back and took her hand in return. "Mary Winchester. This is my husband, John, and these are..." Mary's happy facade cracked for a moment when she realized she was about to call them her 'sons.' She quickly amended and said, "This is Sam and Dean."

Missouri smiled. "Just keep caring for them," she whispered, knowing full well what Mary was thinking. "They'll come around."

Mary blushed as a burst of emotion flared in her chest. Admittingly, it was creepy that this woman seemed to know exactly what she was thinking, but at the same time, she was thrilled that the same woman seemed to think that the boys will eventually come to accept them.

John glared at the woman, still very much skeptical about all this. His wife maybe all in for it, but for the sake of the boys, he decided caution was the best route to take.

Missouri turned to John, her smile never wavering. "Oh come on, John! You may be a skeptic about all this, but that doesn't mean you can't be comfortable! C'mon in!" Missouri turned around and beckoned them to follow.

John gave his wife a look of disbelief and she returned it with a hesitant smile. "Just be patient," she whispered.

John scoffed. "You must be kidding."

"_Please_..."

John sighed and reluctantly nodded. He turned around to see the boys standing only a few feet away. Sam stood in front of this brother, Dean's arms wrapped tightly around him. Sam's eyes were wandering as usual while Dean had a look of confusion.

John swiped a hand over his face and said, "Alright, boys, c'mon," before following Missouri further into her house.

When they reached her dining room she turned around and said, "Now let's get a look at these boys..."

Dean held Sam closer at the woman's words. Missouri gave the brother's a sad smile. "Don't worry," she said. "I won't bite." She held her hand out to Dean, ignoring the small flinch he gave. Dean stared at the hand for a moment. His eyes flickered from Missouri's hand to her face. She nodded. "Go on."

Dean's jaw shifted side to side as he maintained a neutral expression. He pretended to carelessly extend a hand and took Missouri's into his own.

Dean suddenly gasped and pulled his hand away as if from a hot stove.

"What's wrong?!" Mary said worriedly.

"What the hell did you just do?!" John demanded.

Missouri gave John an even look. "Nothing."

"Bullshit!"

"N-no..."

All their attention shifted to Dean. Dean was staring at his hand. "She didn't do anything... she... she's not there?" Dean said breathlessly, obviously completely shocked.

"What?" Mary asked. "What do you mean 'not there'?"

"You can't sense me," Missouri said with a smile. She nodded. "I hoped you wouldn't."

Dean looked up at Missouri. "Y-... You're for real?"

Missouri smiled. "Yes. I'm for real."

---

It seemed to be a rather dull encounter. Dean sat on the couch with Sam resting between his legs and against his chest while Missouri and the Winchesters sat on the couch opposite. The Winchesters mostly stayed silent while Missouri talked to Dean. He didn't say much. After the revelation of Missouri's apparent powers, Dean seemed more at ease, but he didn't let his guard down for a single moment.

Missouri asked very plain questions, such as what they like to do, what kind of movies do they like, etc. Dean answered like usual, saying they had no preferences and they usually tried to accept things as is.

After an hour, Missouri beckoned the Winchesters to follow her to the kitchen. Dean and Sam remained in the living room on the couch, silently communicating.

Missouri gave the Winchesters a serious look. "You realize rising these boys isn't going to be easy."

"We kinda gathered," John said.

Missouri shook her head and looked back towards the direction the brothers were. "They've been through more than any child should. Because of their gifts and how they've been treated, their view of the world is somewhat warped. Especially Sam's. Besides his brother, he doesn't understand anything but pain and suffering." Missouri sighed. "And they lied to you."

Mary and John frowned. "What do you mean?" Mary asked.

"I believe Dean told you that their powers were based on certain chemicals and brain impulses?"

Mary nodded slowly. "Are you saying they're not?"

Missouri nodded. "Dean's looking for a tangible explanation for what they can do. He doesn't want to believe it's just how they are. He doesn't want to believe a supernatural explanation."

"Why?" Mary asked. "Wouldn't be easier just to accept as is?"

"I believe Dean's hoping that whatever they can do can be cured. He views their powers as a curse, and with the lives they've had I don't really blame them. But if he keeps trying to convince himself that what they can do is natural and can eventually be stopped, he's going to set himself up for a bitter disappointment that could end with an explosion on his part."

"So..." Mary said slowly, "How _can_ they do what they do? Where they just born with it?"

Missouri sighed. "The best I can explain it, is that they're lightness and darkness?"

John gave the psychic a skeptic look. "'Lightness and darkness?' Please..."

"It's the only way I can explain it. Dean is light, Sam is dark. It's who they are, it's _what_ they are."

"That doesn't make any sense - !" John said.

"Actually it's makes a lot of sense," Missouri said impatiently. "One cannot live without the other. The exist as opposites, and as one. Lightness and darkness are brothers. Look up your mythology. Ying/Yang is an example. Together... they live in harmony."

"That just sounds _so_ BS-ed."

Missouri shrugged. "It's the best I can explain it."

"Why is Dean light and Sam dark?" Mary asked.

Missouri blew out a long breath. "That's harder to explain. Dean has this beacon in him. He attracts people, and I'm not just talking about his looks," Missouri added with a smile. "People are compelled to... go closer to him so to speak, even though his anger would seem to fend people off. Unfortunately, as soon as they find out what he can do, they get scared and confused and usually end up hurting him because of that confusion. They simply can't understand why someone so compelling can do such things, since most people believe powers and such are a sign of evil. Sam, on the other hand, has turmoil inside of him. People avoid him, see him in a darkened light. And when they find out what he can do, they're even more compelled to shun him, hurt him."

Mary sighed. The sadness for those boys grew inside of her. "I wanna help them..." she said.

"I know," Missouri said. "But like I said before, it's not going to be easy."

"Screw easy," she said. "I'm not letting those boys live a minute longer than they have to in misery."

Missouri looked at John. "What about you?"

"You're the psychic," John mumbled, looking away.

"Yes, but I want you to say it."

John glared at Missouri. "Of course I wanna help them."

Missouri smiled. "Alright, then."

* * *

**Well...? Whaddya think? Is it what you expected? Better? Worse?**** Serious, review and let me know EXACTLY what you think.**

**Just to let you know, the flow of the story is dependent slightly on the reviews. Small tidbitds of the story are written in answer to or changed because of your reviews. For example, a lot of you thought Dean caved too fast. So, Mary and John think so as well and there'll be an explanation later on. So in other words keep reviewing! Not only do I love them, the make the story even better! XD  
**

**PLEASE REVIEW! THE DRAGON'S HUNGRY!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**GEEZUS! Over 200 reviews?!?! OMG, thank you all so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it!**

**Sorry so much for the delay! I've been unbelieveably busy lately! This chapter is a bit shorter than my other chapters, but I really wanted to update :P**

**I should be getting less busy towards the middle of the month, so hopefully I'll be updating more :)  
**

**This is kinda a 'breakthrough' chapter so to speak, so hopefully it'll make up for the tardiness :P  
**

**Enjoy chapter eight!  
**

* * *

Mary stood at the doorway and took a deep breath, her stomach turning in on itself. Then, with a feigned air of confidence, she walked into the living room where Dean and Sam still sat. She sat across from them, wearing the most non-threatening smile she could muster. "Hey, boys."

Dean looked up at her, a little surprised she was there. His eyes wandered over form for a moment, trying to discern why she was there at that moment.

"I think we need to talk..." Mary started.

"About what?"

"About you." Mary shifted in her seat a little, organizing her thoughts. "Do you trust me?"

"No," Dean automatically said.

"Why?"

Dean blinked, the sudden question taking him by surprise. Then he shrugged. "I just don't."

Mary held her hand up. "You've shaken my hand. You know I don't intend to hurt you."

"That doesn't mean you don't intend to hurt Sam."

Mary frowned at this. "If you know I'm not gonna hurt you, why would you think I would hurt Sam?"

Dean looked away and didn't say anything. He had a hand in Sam's hair, running his fingers through his hair slowly. His own feelings of fear and anger grew, Sam's feelings of fear and anxiety growing in turn.

"Dean..." Mary said carefully. "Please don't shut me out. I... I _really_ want to help you." She felt the burn of tears rise in her eyes. "But I can't _help_ you if you don't _trust me_!"

Dean looked back at Mary incredulously. "Is this some sort of stupid _strategy_ that that psychic bitch thought of to get me talk?! If so, I want _no _part in it!"

Mary bit her lip. "Missouri told me I need to talk to you. So that's why I'm doing."

Dean scoffed, a bitter smile forming on his face. "You wanna know why I don't _trust_ you? I'll tell you why." Dean slowly let go of Sam, unwrapping his arms and sitting his brother up against the back of the couch. Sam gave a small gasp in panic and tried to grab onto his brother again, but Dean just held Sam's head between his hands and leaned his forehead against his brother's. Dean reassured Sam, he wasn't going anywhere, but he didn't want Sam to relive what Dean was about to say. Sam's breathing quickened, his confusion growing. Would it be worth it to just stay in contact anyway? Dean gripped Sam's head tighter and shook his head. _I'm not going anywhere..._

Sam blinked a couple of times before shakily letting go of his brother. As Dean started to let go of him, he brought his legs up and curled into a small ball in the corner of the couch. The mental link was still there, but it was cold and empty. Sam felt as though a part of his very body had been taken away.

Dean felt the same and felt terrible for doing it, but knew Sam didn't need to see this. He sat up and glared at Mary. "Have you ever been tied naked and stuffed in a box because everyone thought you were just fodder?"

A rock-hard lump formed in Mary's throat. She bit her lip and shook her head.

Dean gave a joyless smile and a bitter laugh. "Me neither. Sam has though. One of our first foster families, the Johnsons. They loved me. They thought I was a gift from God, and I swallowed it, hook, line, and sinker." Dean's smile faded, an expression of unexplainable agony forming. "It took me over three months... to realize what they were doing to my brother while I was at school." Dean looked at his brother, who was curled up tightly next to him, only inches away from physical contact. Dean's eyes dulled as he whispered to himself, _"I thought he was lying."_

Mary felt a tear fall down her cheek, but ignored it. A sudden urge to defend herself came over her as she burst out, "But we would _never_ do that to _either _of you! That's just cruel, and... and just... plain... _stupid_!"

"How am I supposed to know that!?" Dean yelled back angrily. He jumped to his feet and shouted, "I know you mean no harm to _me_, but what about Sam!? How the fucking hell am I supposed to know he's safe with you!?"

Mary could feel herself shrinking in her chair, the tall young man beginning to scare her. "You can't," she whispered. "You have only our word that we won't hurt either of you."

Dean gave Mary a look of disbelief. Then he grabbed one of the vases and flung it past Mary's head. Mary screamed as the face whizzed by her head and shattered against the wall behind her.

"That's not good enough!" Dean screamed. He swiped an arm across the table, knocking a lamp and the glasses off with a loud shatter. "I have to KNOW! I have to know you won't hurt Sam!" Dean lifted the table up and knocked it to the side. He continued to throw things and knock them over until the whole room was an unrecognizable mess. Then Dean just slammed his fist into the wall, large dents forming on contact. "I can't _do _anything unless I know! I have to know! I have to know! I have to KNOW!"

Sam tensed and whimper as intense anger and frustration brushed by him. His eyes widened at the familiarity of the situation.

_He was laying, curled and limp on the floor. His body shaking hard from the recent trauma. Unadulterated anger touched him, making him curl further into himself._

_Suddenly there were hands touching him. More than one person was trying to pick him up. He screamed, a mirage of colors and emotions filled up inside him, overwhelming him. He was on fire, he was in the throes of ecstasy... it was too much for him to handle. He clutched his head and tried to get away from the hands. **Where's Dean...? Where is he?**_ _"De...! DEAN!" Sam screamed._

A scream broke Dean out of his fit of rage. He stopped pounding the wall and whirled around. Sam was sobbing and shaking uncontrollably. His scream wasn't loud, but it was desperate and filled with pain. Dean ran over to his brother and pulled him into his arms, the burden of fear now shared between them. Dean quickly calmed Sam down, realizing what was going on and quickly soothing Sam's fears. Sam buried his face into his brother's shoulder and sobbed. He allowed Dean's psyche to take over, to weave into his own and separate the memories from reality.

Mary sat, stunned at the sight. Dean had effectively wrapped his body around Sam, his face hidden in his brother's hair and Sam himself almost completely out of sight. A moment ago, Dean was a raging bull. Seemly nothing could stop him until he wore himself out. But then a single sound of distress from his brother, and he immediately calmed down for the sake of his brother.

Looking at the brother's now, Mary came to a sudden realization. Dean was just a kid. Even more childish than other teenagers his age. He may talk big and have muscles, but he was scared. No, terrified. He's as clueless and fearful of the world as his brother. And all the while, he has taken the full responsibility of his brother for practically his whole life. It was all too much for a child his age to bare.

Mary stood and slowly walked over to the brothers. She stopped when she was mere inches away from them, but they seemed completely unaware of her presence. Slowly, she reached forward and placed a hand on Dean's head. He drew a sharp breath and his body tensed at the sudden contact. In the most non-threatening manner she could muster, she placed her hands on Dean's cheeks and slowly brought his head up so he was looking at her. For some reason, she wasn't surprised at all at the tears falling down Dean's face. But the childish expression of fear Dean suddenly had on caught her by surprise.

Dean blinked, his mind momentarily occupied by trying to calm his brother down. When he realized he was total vulnerable to this woman, he quickly adopted his harder expression of anger. "How the hell am I supposed to know?" he grated out.

Mary gave a smile through her tears. "Time," she responded.

* * *

**Well...? Whaddya think? Is it what you expected? Better? Worse?**** Serious, review and let me know EXACTLY what you think.**

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	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**GEEZUS! Over 200 reviews?!?! OMG, thank you all so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it!**

**Okay, I'm not so busy, so hopefully I should be getting some more chapters out more quickly now :3**

**This is still kinda a short chapter, but I'm leaving in a couple days to visit family so i'm busy getting ready. This will have to keep you busy while I'm on my 'vacation' :P  
**

**Enjoy chapter nine!  
**

* * *

John was tapping the table impatiently. The fact that Missouri was calming sitting across from him drinking tea, only made him more aggravated. "What if he hurts her?" he asked once again.

"He won't," Missouri said, totally sure of herself. "Dean won't hurt her unless he sees her as a real threat."

John sighed. "I think you already said that," he growled.

"Then quit questioning me and trust me!"

There was a loud crash from the other room. John immediately jumped to his feet only to have Missouri snap, "Sit your ass _down_, Winchester, before I introduce you to my spoon!"

John glared at Missouri before heavily sitting back down in his chair. The crashing noises continued, along with angry shouts that were obviously from the older brother. "Aren't you at least worried about the damage he's doing to your _house_," John said between clenched teeth.

Missouri shrugged. "I don't care about any of it as much as I care about the well-being of those children."

John's tense shoulders relaxed a small fraction. "Good answer," John mumbled.

Missouri raised an eyebrow. "Glad you think so," she said haughtily. She stood and refilled her tea cup.

The noise in the other room suddenly stopped. John gave a worried glance towards the living room. He fidgeted in his seat before slamming a hand on the table. "That does it," John growled. He stood and quickly marched to the living room.

Mary gave a small gasp when her husband abruptly barged into the room. Dean pulled his face from Mary's grip and pulled Sam and himself away from her

John looked at the ruins around him in shock. There was hardly any part of the room that wasn't destroyed. Even the drywall had large holes and dents in it.

Missouri came in, wearing a small smile on her face and said, "I think it might be best if you go home now."

Mary nodded numbly. She couldn't tell if things were worse or better than before. She stood up and stood by her husband. She turned to look at the brothers huddled on the couch. "It's time to go boys."

Dean lifted his head a little and gave a small nod. He slowly sat, encouraging his brother to do the same. Sam stubbornly shook his head and remained buried in Dean's chest. Dean silently sighed and rest his forehead against the top of Sam's head. He tried to make Sam understand that he was too big for him to carry now. Dean grabbed Sam's small hand and held it tightly in his, the silent reassurance that he wasn't going to let go. Finally Sam relinquished his control and allowed Dean to lead him.

Mary was helping the boys get settled in the car as John spoke with Missouri. "So what on earth are we supposed to do now?"

"Jus' give those boys all the love and care you can. It'll take time, but they'll learn to trust you."

Mary looked up at her husband. "John! We're ready to go!"

John turned to leave, but hesitated. Then he turned back around and held his hand out to her. "Thank you... for everything."

Missouri smiled and took his hand. "You're very welcome, John Winchester."

---

Dean sat on the bed in their room, Sam sleeping in his arms. He stared into space as he thought over what happened at the psychic's house. More than ever he was confused and worried. More and more, he had this feeling that maybe... maybe the Winchesters were different from everyone else. Dean shook his head. No, he couldn't afford to think like that. The chances he was wrong was too high, and the price to pay was unthinkable.

Dean's chest filled with fear as Sam squirmed a little in his arms. "Sam?" Dean placed a hand on Sam's head a stroked his hair, but his brother's fear continued to grow and panic along with it. _He's having a nightmare_. "C'mon, Sammy. Wake up..."

---

_Sam was honestly just confused. He was laying face down, clothes gone, against a cold table. The sharp emptiness in his body had him searching for his brother, who was only a few feet away, tied on another table. When Sam tried to get up, he found he was also tied. "Why are we tied to the table?" he asked._

_Dean didn't answer. Instead he pulled on the ropes, wincing when the rope chaffed his skin. Sam frowned at his brother. "Dean, stop hurting yourself!" Sam cried._

_"Sammy..." Dean whispered. "You need to talk quietly now, okay? You know John and Matt?"_

_Sam nodded. "'Course I know them. Been living with them for two weeks and three days now."_

_"Okay, well I want you to not trust them."_

_Sam frowned. "Why?"_

_Dean looked around, as if keeping an eye out for any eavesdroppers. Tears filled his eyes as he whispered, "They're gonna hurts us. Okay? Don't listen to anything they say, don't believe anything they say unless _I_ say you can, okay?"_

_Sam nodded. "Okay."_

_Suddenly a sharp hot pain pierced his back, making Sam scream with pain. The pain got worse and spread across his back as his surroundings faded. Memories of his throat being clogged and his mouth filled with foul tastes made him whimper as he curled into a small ball. 'Do not speak, do not spill your foulness on us,' they whispered. 'Corrupting, evil, vile thing.' There was a loud whiplash and Sam screamed as something hit his back. He quickly scrambled backwards until his back hit the wall. 'We'll teach you to walk among us, demon!' More lashes, more pain, never stopping, never ceasing no matter where he went. Sam placed his hands over his mouth and just stayed in a little trembling ball, trying so hard not to make anyone angry._

_'We've conditioned him well. Now to find the others...'_

_---_

Dean could faintly feel the familiar sting on his back and he realized what Sam was dreaming about. Dean quickly wrapped his arms tighter around Sam, pressing his forehead to Sam's. He traveled through the pain and found his brother, shivering, scared and lost in his mind. He gently brushed Sam's consciousness with his own, reassuring him. At first Sam's fear increased until he recognized the presence. When Dean was sure that Sam knew who he was, Dean gently weaved himself with Sam, sharing the pain, grief and hopelessness. Dean began to cry Sam's tears as their beings became one and the same...

When all else fails, retreating into each other can prevent the horrible reality from reaching them.

---

"It's only been a few days," John said, "and I'm already exhausted and overwhelmed."

Mary smiled as she sat next to her husband, an extra beer in hand. "I think that's what raising children is supposed to be like."

John took the beer and sighed. "Raising children who can see the intentions and memories of others?"

Mary sipped her own beer before saying, "Well no, but whether they can do those things or not doesn't change the fact that they're children."

John looked up the staircase. "Special children."

Mary glared at her husband. "What do you mean by that?"

John looked at Mary incredulously. "Nothing! Just that they're aren't... you know, normal."

"So?!"

John laughed. "So? So nothing! I was just making a comment."

"Just because their different doesn't mean you have to assume they're difficult," Mary mumbled.

John frowned. "I never said that. Stop putting words in my mouth. I'm just saying how unbelievable it is how tired I am and it's only the fourth day."

Mary sighed. "Sorry," she said. "It's just that I think I've come to a realization... that no matter what they can do, they're just kids. And they've seen and experienced things that we can't even imagine."

John really didn't know what to say to that. It sounded like a cliched line out of a book, but he couldn't laugh at it because it was unfortunately true. "And we still don't have any idea how to deal with this," John added.

"Maybe we shouldn't," Mary said.

John raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, but did you just say we shouldn't deal with this?"

"Well, I mean maybe we should try and just treating them like they're not different. Go out, have fun, but do chores and work on homework and such."

John laughed. "And how exactly do you plan on getting those boys into the regime?"

Mary threw her hands up in the air. "Well, I'm out of bright ideas, mister! Unless you want to put in your _ingenious_ input..."

John shook his head in amusement. "We need to earn their trust. We can't do anything until at least _Dean_ trusts us."

Mary sighed, exhausted in more ways than one. "And how exactly should we do that?"

"You mean besides keep talking to them encouragingly? I don't know."

* * *

**Well...? Whaddya think? Is it what you expected? Better? Worse?**** Serious, review and let me know EXACTLY what you think.**

**Okay, I actually am getting to the point where i"m looking for ideas. Please tell me anything you can think of while i try to find my muses :P**

**Also, tell me if you want me to keep going on this day-by-day route for them, or if you want me to skip some time. It seems to be dragging out in my opinion, but if you guys like the way I'm doing it, I'll keep on it :)  
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**PLEASE REVIEW! THE DRAGON'S HUNGRY!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**I cannot BELIEVE how many reviews this story is getting! Thank you all SOOO much!  
**

**This chapter was kinda hard to write, so I hope you enjoy it!  
**

**Enjoy chapter ten!  
**

* * *

Dean and Sam were in the shower, Dean quickly washing the both of them again. He had barely finished rinsing out Sam's hair when his brother abruptly turned around and wrapped his arms tightly around Dean's chest.

"Oh! Sam..." Dean carefully dislodged his brother and knelt down in front of him, keeping his hands on Sam's arms. "What's wrong?"

Sam just shook his head, the warm water dripping down from his long bangs and down his face, mixing with tears only Dean could see. As warm as the water was, Sam was shaking hard under his brother's grip.

"Sammy..." Dean brushed a hand through Sam's hair, trying to calm him down. He turned off the water and held Sam close. "What is it, buddy?" He could feel the fear soaking in him from Sam like it always did, except this was a new type of fear. A hysterical fear that screamed urgency. Dean held Sam's head between his hands and forced his brother to look at him. "Sammy, what is it?!" Sam looked at him with wide-glassy eyes, his shaking persistent. Dean started to feel a little hysterical himself, his body also starting to shake. "Please, _talk_ to me, Sam! Why won't you _talk to me!?_"

Sam started to cry, his brother's frustration and fear frightening him even more. But as the sounds of his cries started to come out, Sam quickly covered his mouth to silence himself.

Tears ran down Dean's face. He ran a comforting hand up and down Sam's arm as he held Sam close with his other. "It's okay, Sam... nobody's gonna hurt you..."

Sam buried his face into the nook of Dean's neck, his hands still covering his mouth. He wanted to speak. He wanted to tell Dean so badly. He _needed _to tell Dean. But he couldn't. They were _here_. And if they heard him...

---

John stood outside the bathroom door, listening to Dean begging his brother to speak. He was originally going to see if he could talk to the boys, just to see if he could get some iota of trust going between them. But when he heard the distress from the other side of the door, he decided to listen to what was going on.

He sighed. If _Dean _couldn't even break Sam's shell of silence, then that just means their job is that much harder. John shook his head. _No, don't think like that. First things first though. We gotta get Dean to trust us..._ Finally, John knocked on the door.

---

Dean's knee slipped and he fell hard on the shower floor as the bathroom door was knocked. Dean automatically pulled Sam down with him and held him close.

"Boys? You in there?"

"Yes," Dean replied. "We're done, we'll be out in a minute."

"That's alright," John quickly said, realizing Dean thought he was mad. "Come to my room when your done, okay? I wanna speak with you."

Dean's eyes narrowed. "Just me?"

"Both of you, though somehow, I doubt Sam'll have much to say."

Dean squeezed Sam tighter to his chest in response, but understood what John meant. "We'll be there in a minute," Dean's mumble barely loud enough to John to hear through the bathroom door.

John gave a small smile. "Alright."

---

John was pacing in the master bedroom when Dean entered, his brother following closely behind. "Hey boys."

Dean didn't respond. Instead, he looked around the bedroom for any sign of a threat, careful not to let his eyes linger far from John.

"You mother's downstairs cooking dinner, so I thought we could talk."

"She's not our mother," Dean automatically said.

John nodded. "But she is technically your foster mother."

Dean shook his head. "Whatever." He crossed his arms across his chest and sighed. "What did you wanna talk about?"

John shrugged. He took a couple steps back and sat on the bed. "Anything." John looked back and forth between the brothers, noticing for the first time how much they _didn't _look like each other. "Tell me about your mother."

Dean's head snapped up. "What do you mean?"

"Well, she didn't die until you were four. Do you remember anything about her?"

"No."

"You're lying."

Dean's eyes widened. "Why do you care? She's dead. Nothing else matters."

"How'd she die?"

Dean shuffled a little where he stood, the strong, protective teen reverting to a confused child in a matter of seconds. "Childbirth. Something happened when Sam was born."

John nodded. "Do you remember that?"

"It doesn't matter!" Dean shouted. "It happened! _This_ is the result! How it happened doesn't matter!"

John frowned. "I was only asking if you remembered."

Dean stiffened. He bit his lip and swallowed hard. "No." He shook his head for emphasis. "I don't remember a _thing_."

_My ass_, John thought. Dean was acting much to defensive in John's opinion. What confused him even more was why Dean would lie about it.

"Do you remember _anything _about your mother?"

Dean shrugged. "Why?"

"I'm curious. Besides, if I'm going to raise you, I should try to learn about you two, don't you think?"

Dean sighed. "If you learned everything about us, you wouldn't know how to look at us without vomiting."

John blinked at the harsh statement. "Dean... I was in the Marines. I saw a lot of horrible things during my service. And yet I can still imagine things worse. I don't care how bad it is, but I promise... I will never look at you with anything but respect and care."

Dean shook his head, staring straight into John's eyes. "You won't be able to keep that promise."

John smiled. "Watch me."

---

Mary waited as the pot of water heated. She tapped her foot impatiently, imagining how the talk was going. She couldn't hear shouts or crashes yet, so... that must be a good sign.

Mary felt a slight pang of jealousy shoot through her at the thought of John actually succeeding in gaining Dean's trust. She knew it was absurd to think that way, but she so much wanted to have their trust and depend on her, that she couldn't help but feel a little envious if her husband succeeded.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She quickly wiped her hands off and went to answer the door.

When she opened it, a man and woman were standing with blue uniforms on. "We're sorry to bother you, ma'am," the man said with a thick southern accent. "But there's a gas leak in the neighborhood and we need to evacuate the neighborhood immediately."

Mary stuck her head out a little and looked around the neighborhood. There wasn't another soul in sight.

"And I suppose that you two are the only ones evacuating the _entire_ neighborhood?" Mary said skeptically.

The man glared at her. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but for your own safety you're going to have to come with us." He grabbed Mary's arm and started to pull her away.

"Yeah right," Mary murmured. She grabbed the man's arm and quickly twisted it behind him and slammed him against the ground. The man gave a small grunt at the impact. "Sonova..."

You're hunters, aren't you?" Mary said dangerously low. "Well, I'm not gonna let you -- " A small sharp pain in her right arm silenced her, a warm feeling quickly spread through her body and rendered her unconscious.

---

"What did your mom look like?"

Dean gave an exasperated sigh. "What does it matter?!"

John shrugged. "I'm curious. You and Sam have almost nothing in common, physically."

Dean rolled his eyes. "I don't remember what my mom looked like. She had dark hair. That's all I remember."

John frowned. "Didn't your father keep any of her pictures after she died."

"Daemon burned them all. The day after she died."

John slowly nodded. "I see... Daemon was your father?"

Dean shifted from side to side. "He was Sam's biological father. Didn't get around to much fathering."

John sighed. "Loosing his wife must have taken its toll on him, I imagine."

Dean scoffed. "Yeah right," he murmured.

John frowned. "What was that?"

Dean's eyes widened a little, obviously realizing he had said that aloud. "Nothing."

John wanted to investigate further, but stopped when Sam suddenly gasped and wrapped his arms tightly around Dean's chest.

"Sam?" Dean said. He tried to pry Sam's hands off of him, but Sam's grip was insistent. "Sammy, what is it?" Dean said.

John stood and took a few steps toward the brothers. "Dean?"

"I-I don't know..." Dean said. Sam's hysterical fear was back, pouring into Dean in gigantic waves. Sam's breathing was harsh, and Dean could feel the strain on his own lungs as Sam's emotions swam around frantically.

Suddenly, Sam let go and grabbed Dean's sleeve, frantically pulling him towards the hallway. He had to make Dean understand without breaking the rules. If he broke the rules, then the game would be over, and everyone would lose.

"Sammy!" Dean put a strong hand on Sam's shoulder and pulled him close. Dean put his face directly in front of Sam's. "Tell me what's wrong!"

Silent tears fell down Sam's face as Dean and John did nothing but stare at him. Maybe... maybe if he broke the rules and they didn't find out... That would be cheating, but if they don't find out...!

"Mmm..." Sam whimpered. His tears came out more intensely as fear gripped his chest and shook his body.

Dean froze. "Sam!? C'mon Sam, talk to me!"

Sam gave up and shook his head. It was too hard. They would know. They always knew...

Dean could feel Sam's fear and quickly shook his head. "No, no, no! It's okay! No one's going to hurt you! Just please! Tell me what's wrong!"

Sam had no idea what he was doing. All he did, was do. He yanked himself from Dean's grip and ran down the hallway towards the stairs.

"Sam!" Dean and John both yelled as they followed him. When the got to the bottom of the stairs, they found Sam curled in a small ball, rocking back and forth, staring at the front door.

Dean quickly knelt down and wrapped his arms tightly around Sam, his worry so intense it was painful. He buried his face in Sam's hair, rocking in sync with his brother, silently begging him once again, to talk to him.

Feeling his brother's arms wrap around him, Sam immediately pressed his shaking body to Dean's and buried his face into his brother's chest, the few seconds of emptiness enough to make him almost paralytic with fear.

John stopped in his steps, momentarily relieved Sam didn't run away or anything else problematic. The relief was short-lived, however, when he noticed what Sam was staring at before his brother wrapped himself around him.

A piece of paper with writing was taped to the door. Frowning, John ripped the paper from the door and read aloud: "_You have no idea what you're dealing with. Bring the boys to the motel on the edge of town, room 14. Then you can have your wife back. Sincerely, the Montegues._"

John looked around the kitchen in panic, realizing for the first time that his wife was absent. "Mary!" he called, knowing already it was useless. Dean abruptly stood up, making John blink in surprise. "Dean?"

Then John saw. Dean's eyes were wide with untold terror, his body poised for flight...

* * *

**Well...? Whaddya think? Is it what you expected? Better? Worse?**** Serious, review and let me know EXACTLY what you think.**

**Okay, not my best written chapter. It might have been a bit wordy I realize... review and let me know what you think!  
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**PLEASE REVIEW! THE DRAGON'S HUNGRY!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**I cannot BELIEVE how many reviews this story is getting! Thank you all SOOO much!**

**WARNING: There's a scene of sexual assault towards the end. It's mild in description, but it's obvious what's going on.  
**

**This chapter was VERY hard to write... you'll have to review and let me know what you think :)  
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**Enjoy chapter eleven!  
**

* * *

Mary felt like her body was floating in something dizzy. She didn't know how that worked, but that's what if felt like. Her right shoulder and neck felt bruised and slightly cramped, but otherwise she felt no other injury.

As her consciousness slowly crept back to her, she started to see a blurred outline of her surroundings. Or, a pair of jeans.

"What...?" Mary whispered, trying to find coherency. She blinked a couple times, trying to clear her eyes of the seemingly milky film that covered them. When her eyes finally started to focus and her awareness was back to normal she quickly assessed the situation.

She was tied to a chair, arms tied securely behind her back, legs tied tightly to the legs of the chair. Mary sighed as she silently cursed herself. After all these years, her old hunting habits have worn off, and that's including carrying a knife with her at all times. Though whoever brought her here probably searched her before she woke up anyway.

She slowly lifted her head off her chest, twisting it side to side to get rid of the kinks that had formed in her neck. The muscle on the side of her neck cramped painfully at the movement.

"Ahh... our guest is awake."

Thick southern accent. It was the same guy as before. Mary looked up and quickly surveyed her surrounding. "An old mangy motel..." Mary said. "Definitely hunters."

The man and woman were sitting at a small table in the middle of the room. The woman was thin and wearing jeans a low cut shirt, which Mary thought was highly unwise considering the woman's skin condition. The man wore jeans and flannel. They both wore quizzical looks. "You a hunter?" the man asked.

Mary scoffed. "Not anymore."

The man chuckled. "Obviously." He stood up and grabbed a beer from a bag.

"So who are you?" Mary asked.

"We're hunters, obviously. On a job."

Mary's eyes narrowed. "Sam and Dean? Is that your job?"

The woman raised an eyebrow and looked at her husband. "You know about them? About what they can do?"

"Yes," Mary said tersely. "And I can't believe you would want to hurt them."

"'Them'?" the woman said surprised. "What do you mean them?"

Mary frowned. "I'm... not quite sure I understand... Don't you mean to hurt Sam and Dean?"

The woman laughed in disbelief. "What?! I would never hurt Dean!" She exclaimed. "I love that boy to the very core of his being. Almost as much as I love my Bret." She placed a hand on the man's shoulder. Her happy expression suddenly turned dark. "But that other one... he has some sort of... _influence_ on Dean. Making Dean think things happened which aren't true."

Mary couldn't believe what she was hearing. This woman was accusing Sam of _deceiving_ his brother. The same boy who couldn't even leave his brother's side for an length of time without being overcome by terror. But then Mary remembered what Missouri said, about people being attracted to Dean's 'light,' and repelled by Sam's 'dark.' These two seemed to be a perfect example of that. "What do you plan to do?" Mary asked carefully.

The woman smiled. "I plan to get my _son_ back. And we'll deal with the _other_ one accordingly."

---

Dean pulled on Sam's arm, bringing his brother to a standing position, all the while never tearing his eyes from John.

"Dean..." John put his hands up in a non-threatening manner. "Dean, I swear. I'm not gonna -- "

Dean shook his head. "No." Then faster than anyone John's ever seen, Dean picked up his brother and ran up the stairs.

"Dean!" John quickly ran after him. He was half-glad Dean was carrying his brother. Sam was more than half Dean's size and made it difficult for Dean to run with his brother in his arms. Dean only made it a few steps down the hallway before John grabbed his arm.

"NO!" Dean screamed. He tried yanking himself from John's grip, but John kept a strong hold. "Let... Go... of... ME!"

John grabbed Dean's other arms and held him close. "Dean, I'm not gonna hand you over to them!"

Dean froze, John's words and the thoughts slowly seeping through his panic-ridden brain. Slowly, his body started to shake and soft sobs rose up in his throat. Surprised by this reaction, John let Dean go. Dean's body went limp and fell to the ground, partially curled up into a ball. Broken sobs broke loose, and soon Dean had no control. He sobbed and cried like the broken child he was, holding Sam so tightly it was a wonder Sam didn't burst.

Dean couldn't breathe. The Montegues. Bret. Julie. _Oh god,_ Dean thought. _Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh GOD!_ Forgotten memories suddenly flooded his vision, horrible memories that made his being shrivel, his stomach roll... He felt infected, invaded, violated. And the simple thought of being given _back..._ Dean shook even harder. The sounds, the screams, the deadly and suffocating silence. He couldn't do it again. No, he'd kill Sam and himself before they'd go back.

Some sort of blind fear and panic flooded Sam's mind from Dean's. Sam's body shook and he sobbed bitterly in response. He had never felt his brother this way before. His brother? Panicking? Sam didn't understand and he didn't want to. He just wanted his brother to be okay. So just like his brother did for him so many times in the past, Sam weaved his way through Dean's panic and fear. When he finally found Dean, Sam simply placed himself next to Dean, and waited.

John watched as the boys completely broken down in front of him. He never thought he'd be so affected by something like this, but the sight of the angry, strong-willed teen being suddenly reduced to a broken child at the mere mention of certain people made John shake with rage. Whoever these Montegues were, they were going to suffer dearly for kidnapping his wife, and for traumatizing these boys.

John slowly knelt down next to the boys, trying carefully not to startle them. He carefully placed a hand on Dean's back. "Dean. I need your help. I'm not gonna hand you over to them, but I need to find a way to get my wife back." Dean didn't acknowledge him in anyway. John sighed. "I suppose I could call the police..."

"N-no..." Dean whispered.

John gripped Dean's shoulder. "Dean?"

Dean slowly shook his head. "The police can't help. You call them, you'll never find them." He turned a tear-stained face towards John, his mask barely in place. "They'll just slip away and disappear."

John swallowed. "Dean, how can I find them?"

Dean gave a hollow laugh. "And what exactly do you plan to do when you find them?"

John gave Dean a cold look. "Get Mary back, make those sons-of-bitches pay."

Dean shook his head, a cold smile on his face. "They'll be ready for you. They're always ready. They could be fucking each other and they'd be ready for you." Dean shook his head again, looking down at his brother. He slowly stood, bringing Sam up into a standing position with him. He sniffed and tried to wipe the evidence of tears off his face. "No, you wanna get Mary back, you're gonna need to take us with you."

**Two hours later**

John blew out a long breath. "This is one hell of a plan you've got, kid."

Dean shrugged. "It's the only one that might work."

John shook his head. "These people must be twisted..."

Dean squirmed in his seat a little, but didn't respond.

John sighed. "Alright, but before we do this, you have to come clean." Dean looked up at him in confusion. "At least about the Montegues."

Dean frowned. "What do you mean?"

John rubbed a hand over his face. "Look, I can't go in there blind. Not at _all, _there's too much at stake." John closed his eyes, regretting what he was about to ask. "I need to know what these guys did you and your brother."

Dean visibly paled and quickly said, "No you don't. Just stick to the plan..."

John shook his head, more adamantly this time. "What if something happens, Dean? I _mentioned_ the Montegues and you ended up a _mess_ up there!"

Dean glared at him. "I was fine. Just surprised."

John scoffed. "Right. But what if something like that happens when you see them. I need to know the potential risks _before _they come up."

"And what good, exactly, will knowing what's past help? What possible advantage could it give you!?"

"If I know, then I'll know what kinds of people they are and what I can expect from them!"

Dean just glared at John for a few seconds, hoping John would take back his request. But then Dean sighed and closed his eyes. "I guess that makes sense," he said quietly.

John nodded. "Alright then." He indicated to continue with a flip of his hand.

Dean sighed, his eyes going unfocused as the memories came back. "It was two years after Daemon was arrested. It was our forth foster home..."

---

_Eleven-year-old Dean pulled_ _on the chains, doing nothing more than digging bloody grooves into his wrist. "Let me outta here!" Dean screamed. "Goddammit!" Dean stopped pulling on the chains when he felt a small trickle of blood go down his arm. Dean saw no point in getting out if he injured himself in the process._

_The door to the small room opened, and the woman, Julie, his new foster mother, walked in and closed the door behind her. She wore a worried look on her face as she saw the state of Dean's wrists. "Oh sweetie...!"_

_Dean jumped back and shrank away from her as she reached for him. "Don't touch me, you bitch!"_

_Julie sighed. "I was afraid of this..." she whispered to herself._

_"Where's Sam!?" Dean demanded. "Where is he!? If you don't tell me -- !"_

_Suddenly Julie grabbed Dean's face. "It's alright!" she assured. "I swear, everything's okay!"_

_Dean flinched. These feelings... her feelings. What were they? What was this strange sensation...?_

_"Bret warned me of this," she went on. "But it's okay now! Bret's taking care of Sam, and you should be back to normal in no time!"_

_Dean's stomach clenched. "What are you doing to Sammy?"_

_"Don't worry! He'll be taken care of...!"_

_"What are you gonna do to him!?" Dean shouted._

_Julie frowned, "Oh Dean..." She came in closer to Dean and nuzzled his neck._

_Dean jerked and tried to pull away. "W-what're you..."_

_Julie then pushed Dean against the wall hard, pressing her body against his. "I love you, so much, Dean... you have no idea..."_

_"W-what're you d-doing?!" Dean cried out. He tried to buck her off him, but she was too big and too strong._

_Julie's hand went lower and started to undo Dean's jeans. Then she slowly lowered them and his boxers, caressing his leg along the way._

_"S-stop..." Dean squirmed and tried to get away, but for some reason his struggles were waning off. "P-please..."_

_Julie quickly lowered her own jeans and underwear, then pressed herself against Dean, gripping the young boy's derriere. "Young and smooth..." she said breathlessly. "Oh Dean, I love you so much..."_

_A strange sensation was building in Dean's groin. As unwanted as it was, it was not... unpleasant._

_Suddenly a scream ripped through the quiet and stabbed Dean straight in the chest._

_"Sammy...!" Dean managed to say breathlessly as Julie rocked on him. His body started to get hot and he started to involuntarily moan. His thoughts were mangled, and his vision was unfocused as Julie continued press and play with Dean's body._

_Julie gasped as she managed to mount Dean. "God, you're beautiful!" she exclaimed._

_Dean screwed his eyes shut as his body started to explode with terrible pleasure and his brother's screams continued to ring in his ears._

* * *

**Well...? Whaddya think? Is it what you expected? Better? Worse?**** Serious, review and let me know EXACTLY what you think.**

**BTW, could you guys check out this link? **

**http:// www. youtube. com/ watch?v=4m064pRqqsI&feature=channel_page (just remember to take out the spaces)**

**It's something I'm seriously considering and I would love some feedback :)  
**

**PLEASE REVIEW! THE DRAGON'S HUNGRY!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**I cannot BELIEVE how many reviews this story is getting! Thank you all SOOO much!**

**Okay, you all are going to HATE me... This is a _badly _written chapter, short and not all that much happens. But it furthers the plot and I wanted to stop here before moving on. I know it's been a little while since I updated, but I've been busy/sick.  
**

**Hope you enjoy chapter twelve!  
**

* * *

Waiting. The one thing Mary hated most. Hated it when she was hunting, and she hated it now. When your waiting, your guard is less likely to stay up, and you often find yourself caught unawares when the waiting stops.

Bret turned off his phone. "Your husband's coming. And he's bringing the boys with him."

Mary's head shot up._ No... John wouldn't. _

Julie smiled. "Good. When he get's here, I want you to shoot that bastard of a child."

Bret frowned. "Julie, sweet cakes, we can_ use_ the boy..."

"I don't care!" Julie shouted. "He's _affecting_ Dean and I can't allow it to continue. Just shoot him. We can find demons the old fashioned way."

"What do you mean by that?" Mary suddenly asked.

The couple turned to Mary. "It's none of your concern," Julie said with a sneer.

Mary frowned. "You don't mean to say... that Sam can _sense _demons?"

Bret smirked. "'Course he can. It took me a while, but I was able to get Sam to work for me. All I had to do was push the right buttons, and Sam was a functioning compass!"

Mary started to tremble. "You mean you _tortured_ him."

Bret shrugged. "I was doing the world a favor. Fighting demons. The boy's a danger. As long as I can keep him under my finger, he's no harm."

"Yes, he is," Julie protested. "To Dean. And I won't allow it to continue. When they get here, you _shoot_ him."

Bret shook his head. "Don't worry. One day with that brat, and he'll realize where his place is again."

Mary closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. "This cannot be real..."

Bret frowned. "What'dya mean?"

Mary glared at him. "Sam is a ten year old boy, born with a _curse_ that makes him the target of seemingly everyone. He's so traumatized he can't even _speak_. Hell, he can't even _eat_ unless Dean's there to nudge him on! He's not a threat to _anyone!_"

Julie shook her head. "You being a hunter, how can you be so blind?"

Mary gave her an even gaze. "Maybe I should be glad I gave up hunting."

"Or maybe you'll regret it." Julie pulled out a pistol and sat down. "Old habits wear down, reactions slow... your judgment blurs."

"I think it's your judgment that's blurred," Mary growled.

Julie shook her head and opened her mouth to say something when Bret hushed her. "What?" she said harshly.

Bret smiled as he look out the window. "They're here."

Mary's stomach dropped. "No John.... god no," she whispered.

Bret stood by the door with his shotgun in hand and doorknob in the other. Julie stood over Mary, pistol aimed at her head.

There was a few seconds of agonizing silence. Then there was a knock on the door. Bret looked to Julie, who nodded. Then he opened the door, shotgun pressed against the door just in case.

And there they were. Sam and Dean with their hands bound, Sam shaking hard and whimpering softly in Deans arms. Dean himself glared at the older hunters, though his glare faltered when his gaze landed on Julie.

John stood behind them, a scowl on his face, as if the brothers were pieces of dirty filth. Most people would have thought John was a right bastard, but Mary could see through it.

_It was an act._

And Mary was determined to pay her part. Plastering an expression of what she hoped was horror, she cried, "John! What on earth are you -- !?"

"Shut up," John said. He shoved Dean and Sam gently forward and said, "Here they are. Now let my wife go."

Julie gave Bret a meaningful look, her glare flickering to the boys every few seconds. "Well, Bret?" she said.

Bret pointedly ignored her. He nodded to Mary and said, "Untie her."

Julie gave Bret a look of disbelief. "Bret...!"

"Just do it!" Bret kept his eye of John, not fully trusting him. "We'll deal with it later."

Julie glared at her hubby, but pulled out her knife and quickly cut Mary's bonds.

Mary's eyes watered a little as her numb arms were suddenly shot with pins and needles. She rubbed her chaffed wrists as Julie cut the bonds holding her ankles. But when Julie grabbed her arm, Mary quickly dislodged her grip and stood for kept a firm eye on Julie as she slowly walked towards her husband, her heart breaking at the sound of Sam's whimpers.

Julie smiled. "Our business is done. Now we go our separate ways and forget this ever happened."

John gave a crooked smile. "I don't think so." He brought his arm up and aimed a pistol at the couple, swiveling right to left.

Julie raised an eyebrow and laughed. "You can't seriously think that you can take us both, do you?"

Mary was both relieved that John wasn't going to just hand over the boys and terrified that he was going to get himself killed. _Oh, god, I hope you know what you're doing..._

John gave a small head cock. "I don't intend to."

There was a small click and Julie's head quickly turned to the source. Dean held a pistol in his hand, his other hand firmly on Sam's shoulder.

Julie's smile faltered. "Dean, sweetie... put that down, hon."

Dean just shook his head, but his arms started to shake.

"All four of us are going to leave now," John said. "And then we're gonna call the police."

Dean slowly started to back up. Sam silently followed his brother. His conscious self had buried itself into the deepest recesses of his mind, where only his brother's thoughts could just lightly touch his fragile psyche. _When I say so_, Sam could hear, _Don't think, just run._

"We won't let you do this," Bret said. "Those kids are _ours_! To deal with and care for as we see fit!"

John shook his head. "You don't deserve the privilege of children."

Dean closed his eyes and sighed, hoping to to all the existing gods that he was doing the right thing. "No one does," he whispered.

John was caught by surprise as Dean spun around and grabbed his pistol, simultaneously shoving his brother out the door and keeping all four adults in his sights. His arms shook as he aimed the pistols at them. "From now on..." Dean said quietly, "Stay away from us."

Julie's eyes filled with tears as she lowered her gun down. "Dean.... don't do this, baby..."

Dean just shook his head, refusing to meet eyes with the woman. His body filled with regret and guilt and he didn't know why. _Because I betrayed her..._ his mind spewed. "I'm sorry," he said. He pulled the triggers on both the guns, his hands screaming in pain at the sudden jolt. He heard a couple cries but didn't wait to see what damage he caused. He just grabbed Sam's hand and ran. Ran as fast as he could, slowly emptying his mind of everything and focusing solely on the pounding of his feet and the the tiny hand gripped in his own.

* * *

**See? Badly written and short :P I promise to try and update soon!  
**

**PLEASE REVIEW! THE DRAGON'S HUNGRY!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**I cannot BELIEVE how many reviews this story is getting! Thank you all SOOO much!**

**Sorry for the delay! I just got back from a trip and got side tracked and... well, here's the next chapter! Its a little longer than the last, though still kinda short :P**

**WARNING: Implied sexual content. No actual scene or anything though  
**

**Enjoy chapter thirteen!  
**

* * *

John paced back and forth in the emergency room, his mind ranting and berating. _I can't believe I'm here right now, I can't BELIEVE I'm trusting this bastard..._

"Pacing isn't going to help her, you know," Bret said.

John glared at him. "And how can _you_ be so calm!? Your wife's in there, too!"

Bret laughed. "You'd be surprised just how many times I've been through this. I've gotten used to it."

John shook his head. "You guys are monsters..." he murmured.

---

_"Mary!" John yelled. He caught his wife as she fell to the ground_._ Mary blinked and stared up at her husband with unfocused eyes, seemingly unaware of the blood flowing from her shoulder. "John... the boys..." she whispered weakly._

_"They're fine," John lied. "Just stay still..."_

_Bret was kneeling next to his wife, who had a bleeding stomach wound. He stoically assessed the wound, frowning slightly._

_"It's bad, isn't it?" Julie said._

_Bret nodded. He looked over at John, who was trying to keep his own wife still. He looked back at his wife, who was now unconscious, and sighed.  
** I'm gonna regret this**_._ He slowly stood and said, "You need to follow my lead."_

_John's head snapped up. "What the hell do you mean, follow your lead!?' You kidnapped my sons and threatened my wife! I'm dumping you with the law!"_

_"And how exactly are you going to explain these gun wounds?" Bret snapped back. "Tell them what Dean did, and he will be arrested. And how exactly do you think either boy will be able to deal with **that**_ _turn of events?"_

_John ground his teeth together. "I won't let that happen."_

_"Well it's **going**_ _happen if you tell the truth."_

_John looked down at his wife, his mind battling the situation over. Finally he sighed and said. "Fine. What's your story?"_

_---_

The story ended up being that they were friends, a masked man with gloves tried to rob them, ending in shooting at their refusal, and that Dean grabbed Sam and ran away in fright.

While it killed John to collaborate at all with these people, he could see the logic in doing so. _I'll deal with them myself later, _he thought.

Everything was a blur, talking to the police, driving to the hospital, Mary and that woman being rushed into surgery...

Now it was time for the waiting game.

---

Dean stood at a corner, center of a 'red light district' of sorts. There were a couple of other whores, wearing too much make-up and super tight clothes. But Dean was young and not that bad looking, and he hoped that was good enough.

Sam was hidden, safe and sound, but Dean could still feel the terrible ache of separation gnaw at him. But he still deeply hoped Sam wouldn't try to find him, because even though Dean told and insisted that Sam stay in his hiding place, sometimes the separation was just too much.

"Hey kid."

Dean blinked as his thoughts were interrupted. A middle aged business-looking man was calling him from a silver Audi. Dean walked up to the open window and immediately said, "One hour, fifty bucks. Want anything special, the price doubles."

The man smiled as he leaned over and opened the passenger door. "Sounds good to me."

Dean ignored the painful clench in his gut as he crawled into the car. _From now on, I'm taking care of Sam myself._ Dean slammed the door shut with a resounding slam. _No matter what._

_---_

Sam sat shivering on the forest floor, his back pressed hard against the rough bark of a tree. He clutched tightly at his chest, feeling as though he might be able to claw together the gaping hole that was there. But Sam knew the only way for the hole to close was Dean. His body was practically pulsing with a need to jump up and run after his brother, but terror and his brother's last thoughts kept him pinned to the spot.

Tears fell down his face as he curled into a tiny ball. _Please come back... Please..._

---

A young doctor in his thirties came out and called for Mary Winchester.

John immediately jumped up and practically ran to him. "How's my wife?" he asked frantically.

The doctor gave him a small smile. "Come with me..."

"No, I've been waiting out here for nearly five hours! I want to know how my wife is!"

"I understand, Mr. Winchester, but perhaps we should go somewhere more privet."

John turned around and glared at Bret. Bret rolled his eyes and said much too loudly, "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere!"

John John glared at him a moment more before turning around and joining the doctor to a more privet setting.

When they arrived at an office, the doctor indicated a chair across from the desk. "Please sit."

John shook his head. "Just tell me how my wife is doing."

The doctor nodded. "My name is Dr. Herald, I was chief surgeon in charge of removing the bullet from Mary's shoulder. The bullet had lodged itself into her shoulder bone..."

John felt his stomach turn and he fell back into his seat. "But she's okay, right?!"

Dr. Herald smiled. "She lost a lot of blood but we were able to remove the bullet. We screwed a metal plate in and she won't be allowed to do anything with her arm for a long while, but she's going to be fine."

John sighed and closed his eyes in relief, not taking any notice to the tear that fell down his face.

After he let the good news sink in, John looked at the doctor and said, "Can i see her?"

"Of course. She's sedated at the moment and we're giving her a round of antibiotics and painkillers. She probably won't wake up until tomorrow."

John nodded. "And can you tell the police where i am? They're looking for my foster sons."

The doctor nodded. "Of course."

---

Dean slowly made his way through the woods, trying desperately to ignore his used and worn-out body. Every step caused a stab of pain to shoot up through his ass and to his stomach.

The business -looking man that called himself 'Jackie' had paid him three hundred dollars for three hours and he used them to their fullest. All Dean wanted to do know was drown himself in a cold river so the water could wash out his insides as well.

It's not as if he hadn't done all that stuff before. Hell, Dean was pretty damn sure Sam had been through worse. But the fact that he got _paid_ and practically _asked_ to be used disturbed him on a deeper level then he'd admit to himself.

_But I got the money..._ Dean thought to himself. _If I can keep it up, I might be able get us a proper home and take care of Sam the right way..._

Dean was so deep into his thoughts, he almost didn't notice when he found his brother, right where he left him. Dean immediately knelt next to him and wrapped him tightly in his arms, calming the gigantic waves of terror that were sweeping though his brother's mind.

Sam gasped when Dean wrapped his arms around him. He looked up at his brother with tears in his eyes. Dean frowned until he felt the guilt rising up in Sam. Dean averted his eyes, slightly ashamed. Sam knew. Sam knew what he had done and he was _blaming_ himself for it. Dean immediately denied Sam's guilt and quietly started a mental mantra to his brother, telling him the new life they were going to make for themselves and promising Sam everything he deserved.

* * *

**well...? tell the truth!  
**

**PLEASE REVIEW! THE DRAGON'S HUNGRY!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**I cannot BELIEVE how many reviews this story is getting! Thank you all SOOO much!**

**This chapter is a bit longer, it was REALLY hard to write, especially the end. I personally don't think it was that well written and I apologize for it :P  
**

**Enjoy chapter fourteen!  
**

* * *

John held Mary's hand firmly in his own. Despite the nagging of the nurses and doctors, John only got about an hour of sleep during the night. His head was too busy worrying over the boys and wondering what he could have done differently.

_You were in the marines, for god's sake! And you couldn't even manage two yahoos toting guns?!_

John lay his head by Mary's arm. "I'm so sorry, Mary..." he whispered. "I should have protected the boys. I shoulda protected _you_."

He continued to lay there, lost in his thoughts, when he heard the subtle change in Mary's breathing. John lifted his head and looked at his wife's face, which was frowning a little from the pain.

"Mary?" John asked anxiously. He stood and sat beside her, placing his hands on the side of her face. "C'mon Mary... Let me see those pretty green eyes of yours..."

Mary moaned and she gained consciousness. She blinked her eye open for a second, but winced. "Lights..." she croaked out.

John quickly walked across the room and turned off the lights. Mary sighed as she cracked her eyes open again. "Th-thanks."

John sat back down next to his wife, taking her hand in his and smiling softly. "How you feeling?"

"Weary... actually..." Mary frowned as she looked around her surroundings. "What happened?"

"What do you remember?" John asked slowly.

Mary looked at her hands as she tried to remember. "Those... two hunters..."

John frowned. "Hunters?"

"Julie and Bret," Mary said distractedly, not realizing her slip.

John's frown deepened. _Why'd she call them hunters...?_

"And then..." Mary's eyes widened. "Oh god..."

"Shh..." John tried to keep her calm.

"No!" Mary almost shouted, her voice still slightly hoarse. "How could you bring them!? Why!?"

"I... I..." At this point, John had no explanation for himself.

"We're supposed to protect them! Not _use_ them! Haven't they had enough! Why can't they just be _children_ now!?"

"Don't you fucking tell me what to do!" Mary raged. She tried to point a finger at him, but gasped at the sudden pain. "Aw... Sonovabitch..."

A little shocked that his wife was cussing and worried about her at the same time, John held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, I made a mistake. Let's just accept that fact while we let the doctor look at your arm."

Mary shook her head. "I'll be fine. Just sign me out AMA so we can get the hell outta here."

Still a little dumbfounded by his wife's new attitude, John lay a hand on Mary's shoulder and said. "We need a doctor to look at it before..."

"I'll be fine!" Mary gritted between her teeth. "Just get me outta here. I hate hospitals."

John blinked. "What? Why?"

Realizing that she was slipping, Mary just shook her head and said, "We have to find the boys."

"The police are working on it."

Mary scoffed. "Like the police will do any good."

John gave an exasperated sigh. "Mary, what the hell is with you?!"

Mary didn't respond or even look at her husband. Her entire act was slipping and she couldn't seem to get it under control. _Probably these damn medications..._ "Nothing, John... I'm just worried."

John knew it was more than that, but knew when to stop pushing. "So am I. I'm sure -- "

Just then Dr. Herald walked in. He blinked in surprise at seeing his patient awake but didn't say anything of it. "I need to check your stats, Mrs. Winchesters, and then I'll need to check that arm of yours."

"If everything checks out, can I leave?" Mary tried to ask as politely as possible.

The doctor nodded distractedly. "Yes. If everything is fine, you may go."

John frowned. Something wasn't right. "Doc, what's wrong?"

Dr. Herald sighed. He held the clipboard he was holding in front of him and said, "I actually didn't come in here to check on Mary. I just figured since she was awake -- "

"Then, why'd you come in here?" Mary asked.

The doctor gave a sympathetic smile. "The police have found your foster sons."

---

Dean was practically shaking with rage. He yanked on the cuffs again, ignoring the pain as they cut into his wrists.

A firm hand pushed Dean back down in his seat. "Look, I don't want to hurt you son, but you keep pushing and I may not have any other choice."

"Where's Sam?" Dean growled. "Where the fuck is my brother!?"

"He's being processed," the officer said.

Dean yanked on his cuffs again. "I wanna see him. _Now!_"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible."

Dean could feel the blood slowly seeping out from under the cuffs, but didn't care. In fact, he used the liquid as a lubricant, trying to slip his hands out of the cuffs.

The officer looked down at the teen with sympathy. "Look, kid, we're all really worried about you. After we're done here, we're gonna get you to a hospital to get you checked out."

"I don't _need_ a hospital!" Dean growled. "I need to see Sam... I need to see him now!"

The officer shook his head. "I told ya kid. We can't -- "

"I don't give a rat's ass what you can or can't do." Dean gave a small grunt as one of his hands slipped free of the cuffs. That would be enough.

"Well, I _do_. And I can't let you -- "

Dean stood and spun around, hitting the officer in the face with his cuffs. The officer cried out and automatically reached for his gun, but Dean hit him in the head again, rendering the man unconscious.

Dean froze, listening hard, and making sure no one was coming. When only silence reigned, Dean pulled the gun out of the officer's limp hand and slowly opened the door to the small room. He looked out the hallway, making sure no one was coming. When the coast was clear, he quietly slipped out of the room and silently shut the door behind him.

He could _feel_ Sam. His terror, his confusion. It was so overwhelming Dean wanted to shoot the first person he found, just out of spite.

As Dean got closer to his goals, Sam's feelings started to take hold, making Dean sweat and compromising his breathing. His shaking increased as he heard the echos of laughter. _Sammy..._

As Dean reached an open door, he pressed he back against the outside wall. Sam was in the room with those laughing officers. He could feel it. Red hot anger rose in his chest when he heard his brother whimper and the officers laugh harder.

Dean swung around the corner and held his gun in the air.

Sam was handcuffed and sitting in a chair, looking much smaller than he actually was. Four officers were standing over him, now looking at Dean with stunned faces. Dean didn't know what they were doing, but the tears running down Sam's face told him enough.

"Uncuff him," Dean said with a deadly calm, "and step away from him, you bastards."

Three of the officers looked at the fourth with uncertainty. The fourth was apparently the one in charge. He turned to face Dean and sighed. "Look son, your already facing charges for assaulting an officer and possession of a weapon you have no permit for. Give me the gun, and we'll consider not pressing those charges."

Dean gave a mirthless laugh. "My ass! Just do as I say, and I'll _consider_ not shooting you."

"We only have your best interests in mind."

Dean's eyes flickered to his catatonic brother. "What about him? Do you have _his _best interests in mind!?"

"If you're smart, you'll worry about yourself," the officer warned.

Dean shook his head. "Unbelievable. To think people trust you pigs with they're _lives_. Little do they know that you might not _help _them if they don't like you."

The officer frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Dean shook his head again. "Doesn't matter. You don't ever realize what you're doing." Dean lowered his gun and fired.

The officer cried out and fell, clutching his leg. "Son of a bitch!"

The three others whipped out their guns and pointed them at Dean.

"Put your guns down!" Dean shouted. He pointed it at the officer at the floor. "Make a single move that doesn't involve putting your fucking guns and I will shoot his _fucking_ brains out!"

The other officers looked uncertain as they placed they're guns on the ground. "You're making a mistake, kid," one of them said.

Dean pointed to his brother. "Give me the keys to his cuffs." Dean waved his gun at them. "And no _funny_ business."

The officers started to look _pissed_ but Dean didn't care. All he cared about was getting his brother out of that place.

One of the officers grabbed his keys, made an exaggerated show of non-threatening movements as he tossed Dean the keys.

Dean slowly walked towards his brother, gun trained on the officers the entire time. As he got closer to his brother, the more he started to shake and stumble, Sam's absolute, blinding terror pulsing out of him. Dean placed a hand on his shoulder and knew that his brother couldn't feel him. As Dean tried to break through the din in Sam's mind, he slowly uncuffed him, not noticing one of the officers reaching for his baton.

When the cuffs were free, Dean lowered his gun for a second to lift his brother.

_WHAM_!

Dean looked up in surprise, raising the gun again. He blinked when he saw another of the officers on the floor unconscious.

John stood over the officer, holding his baton and glaring at the others. "Don't mess with my sons, you bastards."

* * *

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	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**I cannot BELIEVE how many reviews this story is getting! Thank you all SOOO much!**

**I'm soooo sorry! school has really made me busy! in fact.... i'm probably gonna focus mostly on this and brotherhood bonds... **

**I'm gonna start a new story in the next week or so because the idea WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE! XD I'll continue it or not based on the response for the first chap.... it's gonna be a weeiird story...**

**I'm sorry, this chap is a little bit shorter :(**

**To everyone in the US, enjoy the next ep of supernatural tomorrow! XDD  
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**Enjoy chapter fifteen!  
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* * *

"What the hell kinda police station you running!?" John growled.

"A good one," the officer on the floor shot back as he tried to prop himself up on his good leg. "The older one is here for resisting and assaulting an officer. And the younger brat won't say an single word, which I will not abide."

"It didn't occur to you that Dean might have just been scared and acted out of self-defense?! And Sam! He has a right to remain silent, doesn't he?!"

"Children don't have rights," the officer said almost petulantly.

John ground his teeth together, barely believing the blindness and stupidity of these men. "Well... I don't think a doctor would _abide_ you treating these boys like this." John turned to the boys in question. Dean was staring at him with a look of confusion and anger. Sam, not surprisingly had his face buried in his brother's chest. Sam's trembling form set off a spark in John.

He turned back to the officers. "I'm gonna take these boys to the hospital."

"Now wait just a minute...!" one of the officers exclaimed.

"After the doctors deem my sons fit and well, you can go through your procedures and other bullshit."

Dean stiffened, squeezing Sam closer to him. Dean had never been so confused in his life. John seemed to be defending him, though Dean didn't know why. But now John was also saying that these officers can have them later.

Usually Dean would immediately assume the worse, but now... now Dean felt hesitant. Like he wasn't sure what to do. Which, really, pissed him off.

John watched the officers carefully, gauging their actions. He had absolutely no intention of letting these bastards have Sam and Dean. But he needed them to believe that they'd get what they want in the end. They'd be more likely to be lenient in the moment if they thought they were still in control of the situation.

After a few silent moments, the officer in charge nodded his head. "Fine, but i want their doctor to send us regular updates on their condition."

"That's fine," John said tersely. He turned to the brothers and said, "We need to go now."

Dean glared at John, but the Winchester was surprised when the glare seemed halfhearted. John took a step towards Dean. "I'm gonna take you two to get checked out. i swear, i won't let them separate you from Sam." John could see Dean's glare hesitate a little more and John almost felt girly enough to cry at the accomplishment. "Please Dean, at least for your brother's sake."

Dean looked down at his brother. He still hasn't been able to really break through Sam's hysterical fear. He knew it was only by instinct that Sam clung to him, but if they were separated now, he had no idea what would happen to either of them, especially with Sam in this state. Dean tried once again to work his way through the thick fear in Sam's mind, trying to assess his state of mind. But Sam was blocking everything out of his mind, so not even Dean could get through. Dean didn't think that Sam was deliberately blocking everything out, it was just his self-preservation trying to keep his sanity in tact.

Dean glared at the officers. Once he found out what these bastards did to his brother, he swore he was going to kill them all.

"Dean?"

Dean looked back to John, the anger in his chest seemingly diminishing a little. Finally something in him gave.

"If anyone tries to separate us, they'll be singing soprano for the rest of their lives."

John gave a strained smile. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

---

Mary was giving the IV a death glare. It was taking a lot of will power to keep her from ripping the IV out and signing out AMA. But the last thing she wanted to do was worry her husband. Not to mention she couldn't afford any more slip-ups.

She couldn't believe how stupid she was earlier. She was angry and upset, but that was no excuse. If she wasn't careful, pretty soon John would be be asking questions, and then... she really didn't know what she would do. She was an excellent liar, but it's always been difficult for her to straight out lie to John. He knew her so well, he almost always saw through it. That's why she just avoided talking about anything subject-wise that had to do with hunting. That included the big chunk of her childhood, her parents, and most of her family history.

But for the most part, it's been easy avoiding her hunting past. But now with the obvious supernatural-ness of her new foster sons and the hunters that appear to be after them, that was going to become a lot harder.

_Maybe I could just tell him..._ Mary immediately shook her head at that. She'd been keeping this from John for so long, she had no idea how he would react to it. One, he'd learn about the supernatural world (which would actually be more plausible for him considering Sam and Dean) and two, that would mean he realizes that she's been lying to him for all these years. And he might resent her for that.

Mary sighed. She would just have to deal and keep it a secret. She shuddered. What happened when Sam touched her? Would he be able to see? She looked down sadly at her hands. What was she gonna do?

---

The police station was twenty minutes from the hospital. The boys didn't seem to be physically harmed, but John still drove quickly.

Sam and Dean were sitting in the back of the Impala. Dean held Sam's upper body against his chest, rocking him back and forth. He had his eyes closed, still working his way through Sam's fear. The longer he tried to work through the fog, the weaker Sam's defenses got as if Sam could tell that someone was coming. Someone who didn't want to hurt him.

Then finally... _bam_.

The moment Dean broke through all of Sam's defenses vanished and he broke out of his catatonia. Sam jerked in Dean's arms, his eyes darting back and forth for a moment before he wrapped his skinny arms around Dean's neck and sobbed.

Dean gasped at the sudden presence of his brother in his mind. It only took a fraction of a moment for Sam to recognize his brother's presence and Sam immediately poured himself into Dean's mind, loosing himself in the comfort of his brother's psyche. Tears fell down Dean's face as Sam's emotions overflowed in him. He held Sam's head against his shoulder, quietly shushing his brother. He embraced his brother's psyche, trying to make sense of the chaos in his mind.

John watched the boys in the rearview mirror worriedly. They were both in a semi-catatonic state, then suddenly Sam burst into tears and hysteria and Dean began crying and embracing his brother even tighter. John sighed as he returned his gaze to the road. _I_ _have to learn more about them... it's the only way we can raise these boys right._

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	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**I cannot BELIEVE how many reviews this story is getting! Thank you all SOOO much!**

**I was originally gonna make this chapter longer, but I feel like crap, so I ended it there :P**

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**Enjoy chapter sixteen!  
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* * *

When they arrived at the hospital, John opened the back door of the impala to help Dean get out while carrying Sam.

Dean gave John a hesitant and confused look as he climbed out of the car. Sam was looking at John blankly, still clutching at Dean's shirt.

In John's opinion, Sam seemed too big for skinny Dean to carry through the parking lot and through the hospital building. Granted, it was a little awkward looking. But neither of them seemed to mind and John wasn't going to question it.

When they entered the hospital, Dean saw all of the people in the waiting area and opted to back into a corner away from them. John went up to a nurse to explain the situation.

A few minutes later, a gurney was wheeled out into the emergency room by a couple of orderlies. John slowly approached Dean and Sam, his hands in the air. "Dean?"

Dean turned his head toward John but his eyes kept wandering to all the other people who were staring at him and his brother. Sam was visibly shaking, his face buried in Dean's shoulder; his brother's anxiousness increasing his fear.

"These orderlies are gonna to take you into the back and check you out - make sure you're okay. I swear, they won't separate you."

Dean glared at the orderlies threateningly. "How do I know?"

"If they do, they have to deal both you _and_ me."

The orderlies looked at each other and silently agreed; they don't want to mess with this family.

"Fine," Dean said curtly. "But we don't need a fucking gurney."

The more braver orderly stepped up and said, "Alright. Then just follow me, and we'll take you to a room to get checked out in."

Dean glared at the orderly but the orderly didn't back down. Dean's eyes wandered up and down him, silently assessing him. "Fine."

John sighed in relief as Dean slowly followed the orderly, giving everyone around him death glares as warning.

Once they disappeared into the back, John heard a couple woman behind him started to gossip.

"We were all here first! Why do they get special treatment?"

"Maybe it's a special case. Like it's a real emergency."

"This is an emergency room! We all have emergencies! I mean, the teen _did_ look a little pale and sickly, so I understand him, but what about the boy he was carrying?! He looked perfectly fine, just scared! And he was most likely putting up an act for sympathy anyway. A lot of boys his age do that. And i highly doubt he couldn't even _walk_ on his own. That boy's just a lazy bum looking for attention."

John abruptly turned around, unable to take it anymore. "How about you bitches shut your mouths and don't assume shit about people you don't even know."

The woman looked at John in shock. "How _dare_ you... Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"I'm those boys' father. And you say one more word about them, and you're gonna be glad you're already in the emergency room." John turned around and headed towards Mary's room, not bothering to wait for a response.

---

"You seem to e recovering well, Mrs. Winchester."

"Great," Mary said. "So when can I leave?"

The doctor shook his head. "I'd like to keep you here for another 24 hours, just to be on the safe side. You never know if an infection will develop."

Mary sighed. She was resisting the urge to argue, trying her hardest to stay on her best behavior. "Alright."

"The odds are very low that you'll develop an infection at this point, but..."

"I understand, Doctor," Mary said. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

There was a quick knock on the door before John walked in. "Hey, doctor. How's my wife?"

"You're wife is fine," Mary said a little begrudgingly.

The doctor smiled. "I'll leave you two to it."

"Thanks doc," John murmured. He closed the door as the doctor left, leaving them a little privacy. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm _fine_," Mary repeated. "I'm just tired of this hospital."

John nodded, but didn't say anything.

Mary's eyes narrowed. "John? What's wrong?"

"Well, I went to see the boys at the station, right...?"

Mary gasped. "Oh my god! I completely forgot! How are they? Why aren't they here?"

John shook his head angrily. "The police were _interrogating_ them. For no reason! I don't think they did anything to Dean, but Sam was catatonic! Probably because those bastards touched him and god knows what else!"

"Oh god..." Mary whispered. "How are they now?"

John shrugged. "I don't know. I brought them here to get checked out and haven't seen them since. I had the hospital swear they wouldn't separate them..." John was silent for a moment before he laughed.

Mary frowned. "What on earth is so funny?"

John shook his head. "It's just... through this entire thing, I think Dean is starting to trust me."

Mary looked at John in surprise. "How do you know?"

John shrugged. "I don't know. Just the way he's looking at me... it's different. Like he's trying to figure me out instead of just condeming me outright."

Mary gave a small smile. "I hope you're right."

---

The doctor handed Dean a couple of paper gowns. "I need you to take off everything but your underwear and put these on."

Dean took the gowns hesitantly. "You're gonna touch us?"

The doctor frowned at the wording, but nodded. "I''m going to have to to make sure you're okay."

Dean looked down at his brother who was on the ground, curled around Dean's legs, clutching them like a lifeline. "Do you have to check Sam out, too?"

The doctor stared at him. "Does Sam have a problem with touching?"

Dean's eyes narrowed. "Yes. I don't want anyone but me touching him. Sam won't react well to anyone else."

The doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm obligated to make sure your brother is alright as well. I understand your concern..."

_No you don't,_ Dean thought bitterly.

"... but I have to check him out for his own health."

Impulsively, Dean wanted to just whap this doctor out of the way and run again. But he knew to do that would be illogical. That he'd probably end up in a deeper hole than he was already in.

The doctor left to give the brothers privacy to change. When Dean was sure he was gone, he bent down and placed a hand on Sam's head. "Sammy," Dean whispered. He softly stroke Sam's hair, trying to draw him back into the world. "Sammy, c'mon buddy..."

After a few minutes, Sam slowly lifted his head to look at his brother, his eyes still slightly unfocused.

"You with me, Sammy?"

Sam blinked a couple times, his eyes wandering around Dean's face. Then he sat up and wrapped his arms around one of Dean's legs, resting hte side of his face against Dean's thigh.

Dean sighed. He was getting a little frustrated and a little more than angry at those cops. He grabbed Sam's arms and carefully pried them from his leg. Sam whimpered in protest, trying to maintain his hold, but Dean was mentally trying to pull Sam into reality, bring him to the situation. Dean wouldn't let Sam go into this check-up unprepared.

Whhen Dean finally dislodged Sam from his leg, he knelt down in front of his brother and gripped Sam's shoulders firmly. "You here, Sammy?"

Sam looked up at his brother's face and slowly nodded. Sam was partially there. He felt his brother's hands and could actually hear his voice instead of just the echo in his head. But a part of him was still hiding deep in his mind, keeping the path clear for Sam if he wanted to retreat quickly.

Dean picked up the paper gowns. "We need to take our clothes off and put these on. A doctor is gonna come and check us out, make sure we're not sick or anything. You understand?"

Sam gave another slow nod. A moment passed before Sam's eyes widened as he realized what that meant.

Dean nodded. "I know, but I swear, I'll be right here with you. I _promise_."

Sam's eyes filled with tears as he lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Dean's neck and gripping the back of his shirt compulsively.

"Shh..." Dean held sam tightly, rubbing small circles in his back. "I am so sorry... But I promise, I will be there through the entire tthing, okay?"

Sam nodded, but didn't stop crying or let go of his brother.

Dean let Sam remain in his arms for a couple minutes, drawing his own comfort from his little brother, the strong feeling of eing needed bringing it's own form of serenity.

"Okay," Dean finally said. "Let's get ready."

---

A long wile later, a doctor walked into Mary's room. John was sitting next to his wife, his wife leaning against his chest comfortably.

"Mr. and Mrs. Winchester?"

"Yes..." John said.

"I'm Dr. Rewali, I was in charge of taking care of your foster children."

Mary and John exchanged glances. "How are they?" Mary asked.

Dr. Rewali sighed. "You fostered them recently, correct? And they've been in a lot of other foster homes?"

"Doctor, please just tell us how they are," Mary said a bit urgently.

The doctor sighed. "Well, to put it bluntly, it's obvious they've never had medical attention of any sort." He looked at his clipboard. "I'll start with Dean."

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	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
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**I personally really like the ending to this chapter and it was totally out of the blue, like I didn't mean to write something like that. I love these unexpected surprises :)  
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_**Previously:** The doctor sighed. "Well, to put it bluntly, it's obvious they've never had medical attention of any sort." He looked at his clipboard. "I'll start with Dean."_

"He has several scars all over his body, obviously none of them have been treated. If they had, they wouldn't have been as big and jagged as they are. A lot of them look like knife wounds, though a great deal of them look like whip or belt strokes. However, in the grand scheme of things, these scars are pretty insignificant. Mostly I'm worried about they're affecting his mental health." The doctor looked back down at his clipboard. He sighed. "Did you know that Dean is blind in his left eye?"

"What?" Mary said. "How?!"

"Mary..." John tried to soothe.

"It could be a number of things. He could have been born with it, but taking a closer look at his eye, our optometrist found scar tissue. We think his eye was pierced at one point by a sharp object, severing the optic nerve. Dean has absolutely no sight in that eye."

Mary gagged a little, his mind already torturing her with a homemade video of Dean getting stabbed in his eye.

"Is there anyway to fix it?" John asked.

Dr. Rewali shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, but his optic nerve was completely severed. There's nothing we can do. Maybe, at the time, we could have done something, but it's obviously been awhile since this occurred."

Mary and John both nodded sadly, Mary biting her lip as John clenched his fist tightly. "Anything else," Mary said quietly.

Dr. Rewali sighed. "There is one other thing. There's signs of sexual abuse and rape."

Mary gasped and John stayed stoic, since he had already heard this from Dean.

"There are signs that it happened just a few hours ago."

John's head snapped up. "You mean in the few hours they were out there, Dean got raped?!"

Dr. Rewali placed and clipboard under his arm, adopting a much more serious tone. "When I say rape, I mean statutory. We found a large wad of cash in Dean's pocket and I doubt he got that much cash from you. I'm not an expert in these kinds of things, but I can say with almost certainty that Dean participated in child prostitution."

Mary gagged, the thought of Dean under some sicko making her want to grab a shotgun and fill the bastard full of rock salt. _That's an idea..._ she thought.

John was trying every possible method of self-control in the book, knowing that going out and killing Bret and Julie for pushing Dean into this wouldn't solve anything. "How is he?"

"There was minimal damage, though I'm having him tested for STIs and HIV. The results should be back soon."

The Winchesters nodded, both lost in their thoughts.

Dr. Rewali cleared his throat and pulled up a few pages on his clipboard. "Would you like me to continue with Sam?"

John nodded, Mary just swallowed, preparing herself for the next list of horrors.

"As his brother does, Sam has a multitude of scars, all of them untreated. Though, he seems to have suffered more... abuse than his brother."

Mary started to tremble, the idea that Sam suffered worse than even his brother making her extremely angry. She clenched her fists in the blankets of her hospital bed, trying to regain a little composure.

Interpreting his wife's trembling as distress instead of anger, John wrapped an arm tighter around his wife, rubbing her arm for comfort.

"If you'd like me to stop -- " Dr. Rewali said.

"No," Mary said. She looked up at the doctor, keeping her expression neutral. "I wanna hear."

The doctor nodded. "Alright." He looked back down at his clipboard. "Sam has a very large burn scar covering his back. It looks to have been a very severe burn. Now, I'm sure you've noticed the burns on Dean's hands and lower arms?"

The Winchesters nodded.

"Well, Dean's and Sam's burn scars seem to be about the same age, a few years old. Also, mostly untreated as well, so the scarring is severe. I asked Dean about them and he wouldn't say whether he was in a fire or if it was an accident of some sort." The doctor wiped a hand down his face, the list emotionally tiring for him. "Sam has some -- what look like whip marks -- that are still healing across his back. He seems to have had those for some time as well, however deliberately damaging an area with a healing burn can make the healing process a lot longer and more painful. I'm actually surprised you two didn't know about it. It seems to still be causing him a degree of pain."

_Like those boys would bring any discomfort in the open. They fear punishment too much for that,_ John thought bitterly.

"There's one more thing I'd like to bring to your attention. Both the boy's have misshapen bones, obviously from breaks that weren't taken care of properly. We don't really have to worry about Sam as much, because he's so young, the bones have mostly aligned themselves on their own and healed normally. Sam's right leg is just a little bent about halfway down the tibia, giving him a slight limp. However, because Dean is older, his bones don't heal as fast and aren't as likely to straighten on his own. His left arm is misaligned at two places along his forearm and both of his legs have several breaks that also haven't healed correctly."

"Can you fix it?" Mary asked apprehensively.

"With correctional surgery, we should be able to, but the recuperation will be difficult. For both of them, but especially for Dean because we'd have to do several separate surgeries."

John and Mary looked at each other, communicating silently. They both knew that getting the boys to _agree_ to the surgery would be the hardest part. Because it would mean that the boys would be separated.

"When can we see them?" Mary asked.

"I can have them brought here immediately if you want, but I would suggest against it. They're both extremely tired, physically and emotionally, from everything that's happened. I think it's best you leave them be for now."

Mary understood the reasoning but was anxious to see her boys. She hasn't seen them since they ran away and she was still feeling a little bit of separation anxiety, of sorts.

John looked at the clock, seeing it was mid-afternoon. "I'll go check on them," John said. He stood up, his hand still clutching his wife's. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He kissed her hand before turning to the doctor. "Can you tell me where they are?

---

John looked in through the window at the boys, his heart breaking for them.

There were two beds in the room, but they were curled together on only one of them. They were both wearing hospital gowns, but John could tell that Sam was under Dean's gown, pressing close to his brother's chest.

John had never seen them asleep before and couldn't believe how_ peaceful_ they looked. Seeing them like this, he could tell how handsome they would be if they didn't always look like they had the weight of the world on them. Sam had delicate features with a soft expression while his big brother had a chiseled look about him.

John sighed as he wondered how often they got to sleep calmly. He had no doubt that they were probably often plagued with nightmares. He remembers his own nightmares from his time in foster care. Hell, sometimes they still wake him up in the middle of the night. But he can't even imagine what these boys have gone through or what they've seen.

John was broken out of his thoughts when he saw Sam's face scrunch up in distress. Almost immediately, Dean was awake, pulling Sam closer to him. After a few moments, Sam's face relaxed. Dean kissed his brother on his head and closed his eyes again, running a hand through Sam's hair.

John shook his head. Dean was fifteen for christ's sake! He should be worried about girlfriends and high school, not caring for his little brother and getting surgery to make his bones go straight! John sighed angrily. In a few short years, Dean is going to be an adult, but John has no idea how Dean's going to survive in the real world, especially with his self-appointed task as his little brother's caretaker.

John placed a hand against the glass of the window. "I'm going to take care of you," he whispered. "I'm going to make things right."

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	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**I cannot BELIEVE how many reviews this story is getting! Thank you all SOOO much!**

**okay, the ending of this chap is a little weird, but it's just what ended up happening :P**

**I'm back to updating all my stories (i'll still be updating this the most) but updates for my other stories will probably be far apart. Sorry :(  
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**Enjoy chapter eighteen!  
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* * *

There was shuffling and the clicks of a pen.

Dean squinted his eyes open, jerking a little when he saw the nurse standing right over him

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie. Did I wake you up?"

Dean shook his head. "What're you doing?"

"Just making sure you two are alright. How're you feeling?"

Dean shrugged, hoping the clueless lady would just leave.

"Your doctor will be coming to talk to you in a little bit. Do you want your parents to be present when he speaks with you?

Dean didn't konw why, but he nodded his head. The question didn't really fully register in Dean's mind, so his body answered for him

"Alright." The nurse wrote a few notes on hier clipboard. "You better wake up your brother. The doctor wants you two to take some pills orally this morning. I'll be back in a couple minutes."

Dean kept his eyes on the nurse until she disappeared out of the room. He sighed, reluctantly turning to his brother who was curled up in his arms. Placing a hand on Sam's shoulder, he gently shook him. "Sammy... wake up."

Sam almost immediately woke, his conscious not having been far from the surface in the first place. He looked up at his brother for a moment before burying his face in Dean's chest.

Dean gave a small huff. "Yeah, I can relate." Both of them were extremely tired, both mentally and physically, from the examination the previous day. Sam wasn't even scared anymore; just totally exhausted, wanting nothing more than to just stay comforted in his brothers arms.

Dean petted Sam's hair, the motion calming Dean down. Dean was just so tired of _everything_. His decision to just go with the flow and see where it takes them was partially resignation on ihs part. He just didn't know what to do anymore. After a while, he realizes that doing the same thing over and over again just doesn't get you anywhere.

The nurse came back in, carrying a tray with four plastic cups: two of them with pills, the other two with water. "Here ya go, boys." She set the stray on the nightstand next to the bed and stood back, waiting for them to take the pills.

Dean sat up, pulling Sam into sitting position with him. He grabbed on of the cups of pills and looked at it suspiciously. "What're these for?"

"They're antibiotics and painkillers. Not enough to knock you out, but enough to take the edge off."

"We don't need these," Dean insisted. "Well, your doctor thinks otherwise and it's his opinion that matters."

Dean grimaced but didn't argue. He tossed the pills into the back of his throat and grabbed one of the cups of water. Quickly drowning it, he grimaced a little at the bitter taste the pills left. Grabbing the other cup of pills, Dean placed a hand on the back of his head, trying to coax Sam to pull his head away from Dean's chest to take the pills.

Sam pulled his head back a little at his brother's mental urging, but as soon as he saw the nurse, he slammed his face back into his brother's chest. "C'mon, Sammy…" Dean urged. He tried to let Sam know that the sooner he took the pills, the sooner the nurse would leave. But Sam just shook his head, absolutely refusing to pull away at all from the protective shell Dean provided.

Dean sighed, turning to the nurse. "I can get him to take them if you leave."

The nurse hesitated. She knew that these boys were trauma victims and that they were uncomfortable with other people, but she doesn't know if they'd just throw the pills away or hide them.

"I promise Sam will take them," Dean said, instinctively knowing the nurse's hesitation. "Just give me a couple minutes."

The nurse sighed, not seeing another alternative. "Alright, but I'm coming back in one minute."

Dean nodded, relieved that she was leaving. As soon as she closed the door behind her, Dean turned back to his brother. "She's gone, Sam"

Sam pulled his head away from his brother's chest, peaking out over Dean's arm. When he saw the room was empty, he pulled his head out all the way, relaxing a little. He looked up at his brother with big, questioning eyes.

Dean held up the cup of pills. "You need to take these."

Sam nodded, reaching up to take the cup from his brother. He gingerly tipped the cup back and let the pills fall in his mouth, grimacing at the slightly bitter taste. When Dean handed him the cup of water, he downed in greedily, a few drops leaking out the sides of his mouth.

Dean took the empty cup away and smiled, rubbing a hand against the nape of Sam's neck. "Good job, Sammy…"

The door suddenly opened, startling Sam into jumping back into his brother's chest, once again burying his face.

The nurse gave Dean an uncertain look. Dean noticed her uncertainty and gave a slight nod. "He took the pills."

"Are you sure?" the nurse said.

Dean resisted the urge to roll his eyes and say _No, I'm not sure I saw my brother take the pills. I might have been imagining it!_ "Yeah."

The nurse nodded, picking up the tray of empty cups. "I'll take that now."

She was pointing to the empty cup of water Dean was still holding. Dean handed it to her, her fingers brushing his as she took the cup.

A flow of sympathy and slight confusion filled Dean's body, tingling his nerve endings. She had admiration for him, for taking care of his brother and for being as level headed as he was. She thought him to be extraordinary.

A moment later it was gone, and Dean almost wished he could touch her again. People rarely thought that well of him, and it felt extremely good to be thought of in such a manner.

And his groin seemed to agree.

Blushing a little as he stared at her swaying body as she left the room, he held Sam a little closer, more to get these incredibly disturbing ideas of his head than for comfort.

Sam shifted in Dean's embrace and Dean found his brother gazing up at him with a determined look. Then, a calming sensation touched Dean's conscious. The calming feeling nudging at the edge of Dean's mind slowly increased, but he could tell it was wavering. He smiled a little, realizing it was Sam trying to comfort him the same way he often calms Sam. He must have felt Dean's uneasiness through their embrace…

Dean placed a hand on the side of Sam's face as he pushed against Sam's psyche, filling and surrounding it with gratitude and reassurance. "I'm okay," Dean said with a small smile.

Sam huffed, frustrated with his own failure. Dean could calm him down with barely any effort at all. Meanwhile, Sam couldn't offer Dean anything in return. Of everything that's happened to them, most of it was Sam's fault. Why should Dean have to comfort and take care of him? Of Dean's own curse?

Dean rubbed Sam's arm comfortingly. "It's okay, Sam. Really."

Sam shook his head. "Nnn..."

A small jolt of excitement hit Dean, but he knew better than to give his hopes up. "You wanna say something?

Sam gave a small nod, his eyes brimming with tears. He wanted to say something. Anything. He knew how happy it wold make Dean. But whenever he tried to say something the air in his chest would trap itself in his throat, giving no means of speaking. Sam whimpered a little as he tried to push the air out of his chest and speak. He squeezed his eyes shut, his mouth open, silent. "Ah... Ah... Nnn..." His body shook from the effort.

_"Did you say something?"_

Sam's eyes snapped open. He shook his head hard.

"Sam?" Dean said, feeling the sudden change from desperate to terrified. "What's wrong?"

_"I told you what would happen if you said anything..."_

Sam practically lunged at Dean, wrapping his arms in a death grip around Dean's middle as he sobbed silently into Dean's chest, only a few pathetic whimpers and grunts breaking loose from his throat. _I won't say anything! I promise! Please... just don't... please...  
_  
Feeling the guilt and fear overflowing from his brother in waves, Dean felt a familiar red hot ember of rage ignite in his stomach.

_If I ever get my hands on Daniel..._

---

Mary's doctor checked her wound, writing notes on his clipboard.

"So can I get out of here or what?" Mary asked impatiently.

"Let the doctor finish," John said tiredly.

Mary sighed. "Excuse me for wanting to get out of here to see my _sons._"

The doctor shook his head, amused, as he covered the wound with fresh ointment and gauze. "It seems to be healing nicely. I think you're ready to go.

Mary kept herself from letting out an exaggerated sigh of relief.

"Remember, keep that arm in the sling and mostly immobile for at least two weeks. And if there's any sign of redness or discharge -- "

"Contact you immediately, I got it, I got it..." Mary flipped her covers off, swinging her legs off the bed. "John, hand me my clothes please."

"One last thing," the doctor said. "Am I right in assuming you're sexually active?"

"Yes," Mary responded.

"Then I want you to hold back on having sexual intercourse for the first couple of days. I don't want there to be any unnecessary pulling on that wound. After a few days, it should be strong enough to handle any tussling you two may do. But still take it easy."

Mary nodded. "Yes, yes, alright. John, clothes."

John smiled and shook his head. "What is it with you and hospitals?"

Mary shrugged. "They're a place of injury and death. Why wouldn't I have a problem with hospitals?"

The doctor left, leaving them privacy so Mary could change.

"Well, generally, people come to hospitals to get _better_. To the overall population, they're seen as a _good_ thing." John helped Mary get dressed, being extra careful with her shoulder.

Mary sighed. "Hospitals only carry bad memories."

John paused, briefly remembering the dark period after Mary's parents were murdered. It was a not a subject either of them liked to dwell on.

Mary finished getting dressed, turning to her husband with a smile. "Besides, I _know_ you can't wait to get me in bed."

John groaned. "The doctor said we have to wait a few days."

Mary leaned into her husband's chest letting him wrap his arms around her. "I'm sure we can improvise."

John chuckled. "Stop. Just thinking about it is too much..."

Mary smiled. "That's the point." She leaned forward and kissed John full on the mouth. They allowed a few seconds of passion before breaking apart. Mary's face turning solemn, she placed a hand on John's chest and said, "Let's go see our sons."

---

As the Winchesters walked into the brother's room, Dean frowned at Mary's sling. "What happened?"

Mary and John stiffened a little. Neither of them had really given any thought on how they were going to deal with the fact that Dean shot Mary. "You don't remember?" Mary asked softly.

Dean gave them a confused look. "What do you mea -- ?" Suddenly the realization dawned on Dean, his eyes darkening. He pulled Sam closer to himself, who had started to shake, feeling the fear emitting from his brother.

"It's alright!" Mary quickly said. "We have a cover story, so you won't get in trouble with the police. They think that robber broke in and shot us."

Dean's eyes widened a little at the word 'us,' as though it only then occured to him that Bret and Julie were there as well. "What about you?" Dean said with a quiet calm.

John frowned at the inflection in Dean's voice. "What do you mean?"

"What are you gonna do about us?" Dean said. "Once we get out of here."

"Give you a very long talk about handling guns," Mary said a little nervously, praying Dean didn't take any of this the wrong way.

Dean's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What kind of talk?"

"The kind where were words come out of your mouth," John said. "We're not gonna hurt you, Dean. You or your brother. We might take away dessert privileges for a while..."

Dean gave them incredulous looks. "I almost killed you," he said to Mary. "How can you not be _angry_ with us?"

"We're more upset than angry," Mary assured. She slowly walked up to the boys' bed, sitting on the farthest corner of it. "We want you to trust us. Trsut that we won't let anything bad happen to either of you."

Dean still looked at them with suspicion but Mary could see the small hints of doubt in Dean's body language. He wasn't as guarded as he usually was and his death grip on his brother had lessened.

It wasn't much, but Mary prayed to god that it was a sign of Dean's trust beginning to grow.

* * *

**Constructive criticism is my friend! so be truthful!**

**PLEASE REVIEW! THE DRAGON'S HUNGRY!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**I cannot BELIEVE how many reviews this story is getting! Thank you all SOOO much!**

**I"M SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY! I've been SOOOO busy with school! Updates are probably going to be sparse for the next couple weeks...**

**My cognitive skills seem to have left me as well. My school work is getting worse and this chapter was... really hard to write. Hence why it's short :P  
**

**Enjoy chapter nineteen!  
**

* * *

When the boys doctor walked in, the entire room seemed to tense.

"'Morning, John. Mary. You look better."

"You bet I am," Mary said with a smirk.

Dean watched the doctor carefully. Dean knew the doctor didn't mean any harm towards him, and when he touched Sam, all he could feel through his brother was a deep sense of sadness. But just the fact that those _hands_ probed them made Dean all the more wary of him.

"Am I right in assuming you haven't told them yet?" the doctor asked the Winchesters.

"Told us what?" Dean half-demanded.

The doctor gave John and Mary a sideways glance, as if to ask they're permission to approach the topic. "I'm concerned about you and your brother's misshappen bones."

Dean frowned. "We've lived with them fine so far," he pointed out.

"Yes, but in the long wrong it could be detrimental to your health. Without treatment, you're susceptible to more breaks and the eventual breakdown of your skeletal structure."

Dean shrugged. "Okay. Makes sense, but what kinda treatment do you exactly propose?"

"Well, I think the only way to correct your bones is surgery..."

Dean gave a humorless laugh. "Yeah right. No way I'm gonna let you drug us and put us under your knife."

The doctor sighed. "Well, ultimately it's your parents decision..."

Dean looked at John and Mary. "Can I speak with you alone?"

John and Mary both nodded, looking at the doctor. The doctor nodded, taking his leave.

"What is it, Dean?" Mary said.

Dean swallowed hard. "If we go into this surgery, they'll have to separate us."

John nodded. "That's right."

Dean swallowed hard, looking down at his unaware brother. Sam seemed acutely aware of the presences around him for a change and Dean didn't know if he should be more worried or less.

"I know you two really think we should do this surgery," Dean said carefully. "But I know doctors. They have a tendency to overreact a little to persuade their patients to do the right thing. But doctors don't know us."

"Even so," John quickly said, "It's important that we make sure that you and your brother are in the best of health."

Dean rolled his eyes, rolling up the sleeves of his hospital pajamas. "It's not that bad. Really."

Actually, the misshapen bones were barely noticeable unless you were looking closely. They could just be hard to see from all the scars covering his arms, but besides that, they almost looked normal."

"Doctor's exaggerate," Dean repeated as he pulled down his sleeves. "These aren't worthy of surgery. They hurt when we lean on them wrong or something, and we can walk just like normal people. Surgery really is an overreaction."

Mary and John looked at each other. As much as they wanted the boys to be as healthy as possible, they didn't want to force them to do something they clearly didn't want. And Dean's arguments were not illogical.

"I gonna talk to the doctor," John said. He placed a hand on Mary's should for a moment before leaving the room.

---

"Doctor?" John said as he closed the door behind him.

"Mr. Winchester," the doctor replied. "What can I do for you?"

"Dean and Sam will be fine overall if they don't have the surgery, correct?"

The doctor gave John a careful look. "I wouldn't recommend that. The longer we wait the harder it will be to reverse.'

"But it's obviously not causing them pain," John argued. "They've been walking around fine and haven't shown any indication of abnormal movement."

The doctor sighed. "Is there a reason you don't want your sons to have this surgery?"

John hesitated. "I just don't think the benefits outweigh the setbacks. Especially mentally speaking. You've seen those boys. If you separate them, even for a surgery, you could cause further emotional damage. It's not like they're lives are hanging in the balance here."

"It is of course your decision. Though you will have to sign a form so that we won't be held liable for any future complications involving their deformities."

John gave stiff nod, disliking the doctor's wording. "Of course."

---  
Mary bit her lip. There was something else she wanted to bring up, but didn't really know how to approach the subject. "Dean?" The teen raised an eyebrow in acknowledgment. Ignoring the tightness in her chest, Mary sighed and stated, "You sold your body, didn't you? For money."

Dean looked at Mary unfazed. "And?"

Mary's widened. "And?! Dean, you should _never_ have to do something like that! If things got out of hand or god forbid a John have some sort of disease -- !"

"I did what I had to," Dean said. "I... I have to take care of Sam."

Mary looked at Dean with sympathy but didn't back down. "We're here to _help_ you." She leaned forward and placed a hand on Dean's face, ignoring the small flinch he gave.

Dean's eyes widened at the pure emotion that poured from Mary, the desperation, the sadness, the _need_ to help. All for _him._ His eyes filled with tears, though he we completely oblivious to them. "M-Mary..." Dean said shakily.

"See? I want what's best for you!" She placed her other hand on the other side of Dean's face. "it's the same for your brother, I _swear!_ After the years of abuse and torture you've been through, can't you tell that me and John are _different?_"

Tears started to fall down Dean's face, his body starting to tremble. He could feel Sam squeezing him in a tighter embrace, trying to comfort his big brother, but Mary was simply overwhelming him.

Sam clutched at his brother's chest, tears falling down his face as Dean's distress and confusion consumed him.

"_Please_, Dean!" Mary begged. "You are so smart and haven't deserved _any_ of this! You shouldn't be tortured for something you have no control over. You shouldn't have to raise your brother all by yourself."

Dean shook his head, coming close to sobs now. He could hear her words echo in his head, hearing the pure truth of them. "No..." Dean whimpered. "No one's d-differrrennnt..." Dean sobbed.

Unable to take it anymore, Sam let go of his brother and shoved Mary back away from his brother, breaking the connection and knocking Mary to the floor.

"STOP HURTING HIM!" Sam screamed.

* * *

**When I wrote this chapter, i had NO IDEA this was goig to happen. Trust me, i'm as surpised and confused as you :P. (this is one of those circumstances where my characters took over. Seriously, this chapter was completely different then what I originally intended) **

**Constructive criticism is my friend! so be truthful!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**I cannot BELIEVE how many reviews this story is getting! Thank you all SOOO much!**

**wow... as soon as I say i may have trouble updating, BAM! barrage of updates!**

**WARNING: for those of you squeamish about graphic sexual content, _SKIP THE ITALICS! _It's basically just explaining why Sam won't talk. **

**I'm rather proud of this chapter :) Hope you enjoy!  
**

**Enjoy chapter twenty!  
**

* * *

﻿﻿_"We're gonna play a little game," Daniel said._

_Sam cocked his head to the side. "What kinda game?"_

_"Shut up!" Daniel slapped Sam across the face a couple times, each time, Sam's body was jolted by harsh memories of hands beating flesh and harsh yells. With each slap, Daniel got more and more enraged, spurring him on to hit Sam even harder._

_When Daniel finally stopped, Sam was curled in a tiny, shivering ball, the residual pain from the memories and the beating he just received overwhelming him._

_"Anyway," Daniel said, "We're gonna play a game. You won't speak a single word or utter a single syllable. If you do, I will have my way with you. Understood?"_

_Sam nodded, instinctively crawling backwards away from the dangerous man in front of him. He wanted his brother. How long has it been since he's seen him? The emptiness in his head was gnawing at him, Daniel's memories taking over and dominating every nerve ending in his body._

_Daniel stood and unzipped his pants. "How about I give you an example." Pulling his pants and boxers off, he advanced on the boy._

_Sam's eyes widened at the half-naked man, confusion assailing him. Soon Daniel had him pinned on the floor, a constant stream of memories assaulting him._

_He screamed._

_"SHUT UP!" Daniel screamed, half crazed. He punched Sam as hard as he could, stopping Sam's scream and putting him in a daze. Taking advantage of the boy's state, Daniel grabbed Sam's head and inserted himself into his mouth._

_Sam's eyes widened as something **huge**__ slid into his throat. It slowly slid out and back in, pounding the back of his throat and making him gag. The memories seemed more vivid with each thrust, Sam's entire body seizing with pain._

_Daniel laughed in hysteria, the combination of his painful memories and the pure pleasure shooting up through his groin making him giddy. "The more you talk..." he said breathlessly, "The more tricks I get to try with you. Aw man... your mouth is **sweet**!__"_

_When Daniel was finally done, he pulled himself out and collapsed on the floor next to Sam, still laughing. "Fostering you might have been the best decision of my life."_

_Sam lay there, blankly staring into space. His entire body felt like jelly, his pain sensors still stinging. He slowly turned on his side and curled into a small ball, trying to numb the pain and ignore the bitter taste in his mouth._

_---_

Sam's eyes widened as he realized what he had done. Daniel's voice echoed in his head, he could _feel_ Daniel all over him and the pain came back like a shiver caused by the wind.

Dean sat wide-eyed. His chest constricted as he realized what happened. "S-Sammy...?" Dean said, his eyes filling with tears. When Sam didn't move, Dean placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sam?"

As soon as Dean touched his brother, Sam gagged and promptly threw up on the bed, his body started to violently shake and tears streaming down his face.

"No, no, no! It's okay, Sam!" Dean leaned forward and quickly wrapped his arms around his brother, the abject terror and pain pulsing out of Sam's body like waves of heat. "Sammy, it's okay! No one's gonna hurt you! It's okay! It's okay!"

Mary watched the scene in shock. First the shock of Sam pushing her away, then of him _speaking._ It took a moment for it to dawn on her what happened, and a moment more for her to completely understand the magnitude of the situation.

Dean had his arms around his brother, whispering reassurances as Sam softly whimpered and cried. Sam looked like he was on the brink of going into a seizure, but knowing calling the doctors would probably be the wrong thing to do, Mary was at a loss.

Sam gagged again, chunky bile dribbling down his chin. How could have he been so stupid? Now Daniel was gonna come and use him like a dirty whore, and it would all be _his fault_!

"He can't hurt you anymore..." Dean said, trying to soothe Sam's frayed psyche. "They sent his ass to jail..."

Mary blinked, frowning at this. _Jail?_

Sam could feel his brother, but for once it didn't calm him down. His own memories were mixing with Daniel's, terror blocking his throat. He continued to gag, bile-y vomit streaming down his chin and dripping on himself and his brother. He could _feel_ Daniel as vividly as he could his brother, all of Daniel's ministrations merging into one, tearing his sanity into pieces.

_Daniel screamed in pleasure as he slammed himself home, Sam screaming as his stomach was punched from the inside__. Daniel growled louder and louder, his thrusts increasing in tempo as he reached his climax. He continued to pound for nearly an hour before he was sent over the edge, slamming himself so deep, Sam vomited on the bed. Growling in anger, Daniel readjusted his grip on Sam's hips and started to pump again. "You're gonna learn to keep that pretty mouth shut, Sammy boy. Its all on you how long that takes. I can keep going all day..."  
_  
Sam bucked under Dean's embrace, his eyes wide and wild. He pounded his fists on Dean's arms, silently begging him to let go before Daniel comes. Sam prayed as hard as he could that Dean would leave before Daniel came and hurt him again. Sam would_ die_ before he let Dean get hurt again because of him.

Dean didn't know what to do. He tried reaching his brother, calming him down, but Sam _wasn't _calming down, _wasn't_ getting better. Dean could _feel_ Sam breaking and wanted it to _stop_. Wanted it to stop _now!_

Finally, after one last gut-wrenching sob, Sam passed out, falling limply against his brother's chest. Dean closed his eyes in relief. Taking no notice in the vomit that covered them, Dean cradled Sam close, burying his face in Sam's hair. _It's okay, Sammy... I gotcha..._

Mary stared at the boys, still in a slight state of shock. In mere moments, they went from Sam speaking, to a panic attack, to Sam passing out and Dean holding him close. _This is insane..._ she thought tiredly. "Dean?"

Dean flinched, having completely forgot Mary was there. He slowly lifted his face to look at the woman, unashamed of the tears that were falling down his face. "H-he spoke," Dean said quietly. His tears leaked out with more earnest as Dean realized this. "He _spoke_... but..." Dean licked his lips apprehensively. "Daniel won't leave him alone..."

Mary wanted to inquire further, but knew it had to wait. "We need to get you and your brother cleaned up."

Dean frowned, looking down at the drying vomit as if seeing it for the first time. Looking back up at Mary with pleading eyes, he swallowed hard and said, "I wanna get outta here. I wanna go back to the house."

Mary nodded. "I think we can manage that."

---

The doctor shook his head. "I don't like this."

John shrugged. He spoke to his wife earlier and she explained what had transpired and he agreed with her fully. They needed to get these boys back to the house where they didn't need to worry about unnecessary contact. "We're signing them out AMA so you don't need to worry about a lawsuit. And you said yourself that they're fine."

The doctor nodded. "Yes, but you don't even know the results of Dean's tests are yet. If he's contracted HIV or -- "

"You can call us," John said. "If he has contracted anything we'll purchase the medicine and administer it per your instructions."

The doctor sighed. "Fine. But this is completely against my advice."

John nodded. "So be it."

---

"John's signing you out now," Mary said as she watched Dean clean himself and his brother off. "We'll be able to leave soon."

Dean nodded, focusing on cleaning off his still-unconscious brother's face.

Mary slowly knelt next to Dean, studying his face, making sure she wasn't pushing any proximity boundaries. "Dean?" When he made no indication of hearing her, she sighed. "Dean, I'm sorry. If I was hurting you or -- "

"No," Dean said quietly. He soaked the towel in water again before continuing to wipe his brother's face off. "I was just confused." When he finished cleaning his brother's face, he placed the towel down and sighed. "I... I just..." He sighed again. "Even though people tend to warm to me, they have a tendency to do what they conceive as right and just, even if it doesn't reflect reality. Even if that means hurting me," Dean said quietly. "Usually their preconceived notions delude them to my intentions and existence, even if it makes no logical sense. It's a pretty common axiom that the supernatural nature of certain things can cause harm to the natural social chain of human beings, hence the immediate reaction of hostility, even if they understand that those differences actually won't cause harm." Dean frowned. "There's a philosophy on that concept... don't remember what its called though... Starts with an M..." he said more to himself than to Mary.

Mary listened to Dean, amazed at the way he was speaking. It only then occurred to her that she really has never had a real conversation with Dean before. Not unless it was about his brother or their conditions. She saw a glimpse of Dean's extensive vocabulary and advanced syntax when he explained their powers to her and John, but listening to him speak now quite literally left her speechless.

"Anyway," Dean went on, running his fingers through Sam's hair for comfort, "You have to understand... I've never met anyone like you or John before. And... When you touched me, I didn't know what to make of it and it..." Dean looked away and sighed, not wanting to admit that it scared him that he had no idea what to do in that moment. "You seem so _normal... _It's a real shame that the true 'normal' is a harsh reality."

Mary laughed at this. "'Normal' isn't a word I'd use to describe myself."

Dean's lips twitched upward. He looked at Mary, his eyes wandering over her shape. "You won't hurt us," Dean stated.

Mary shook her head. "And neither will John."

Dean's eyes watered, but he quickly wiped the moisture away. Looking down at his brother, he let out a breathy laugh. "He _spoke_," Dean said wetly.

Mary nodded, her own eyes misting. "Yeah... he did."

Dean's shoulders shook as he bent over his brother and silently cried, cradling Sam's head in his lap as if it were a piece of fine glass.

* * *

**Well, so that's that :) please review and let me know what you think ;)  
**

**Constructive criticism is my friend! so be truthful!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**I cannot BELIEVE how many reviews this story is getting! Thank you all SOOO much!**

**Okay... back to my very busy life... **

**This chapter was very... boring? idk... it wasn't what i expected though. Hope it's still enjoyable though!**

**Enjoy chapter twenty-one!  
**

* * *

They were signed out and on their way back to Mary and John's home.

Sam was still unconscious, unreachable by even Dean. He was uncertain as to whether or not that was a good thing.

He sat in the back of the Impala, cradling Sam's body in his arms. Mary and John were both silent, though he could tell they were both tense and in deep thought.

They weren't they only ones.

Dean kept playing what happened at the hospital in his head, trying to figure it out. A new sensation was stirring in his stomach, a sensation unlike any he's ever really felt before. It reminded him of his mother...

Dean shook his head. He knew he was trembling, but he couldn't figure out why. He felt as if he was going to explode out of his own skin. It wasn't fear that was causing this but something else. He held Sam closer. _Please wake up, Sam..._

John was tapping his fingers nervously against the wheel, the latest news on the Montegues making him nervous.

Right before they left the hospital, John went to check on Greg and his wife, mostly to make sure they hadn't done anything... _rash_ for lack of a better word.

Turns out, Greg's wife had died. She had lost too much blood and the damage was too extensive for her to be saved in time. Soon after receiving the news of his wife's demise, Greg disappeared. No trace of him left.

It bugged John, the potential threat Greg's existence posed towards his sons. But there was nothing he could do about it. Reporting Greg to the police would bring up questions about why John lied in the first place and then leading to the fact that Dean shot and killed Julie Montegue.

John's eyes flickered to the rearview mirror, watching Dean cradle Sam. He knew that if the police found out that Dean shot Julie that Dean would be prosecuted and the boys would be separated. If the boys were normal, John might have been slightly inclined to turn Dean in. Because no matter the circumstances, Dean _did_ kill someone. And he _was_ dangerous. But John also knew that if Dean went to juvie and was separated from his brother, it might very well kill them both. And John wouldn't allow that to happen.

_But that doesn't mean I can just not say anything about the fact that he shot Mary,_ John thought to himself, not even giving the Montegues another thought for the time being.

Mary was ecstatic and apprehensive at the same time. She knew that she had made great progress with Dean earlier. He was starting to finally open up and trust her and she was sure that his trust for John would follow. But Sam on the other hand... he seemed to have taken a step forward and several steps back. He may have spoken, but it was made quite clear that speaking of any sort was not something one of his previous 'foster parents' tolerated. And broke the boy something awful as a result.

Mary rubbed her forehead, very much exhausted from the previous week and a half. _Week and a half!_ It doesn't seem possible that so much can happen in such a short period of time. _I wonder if their life is always like this_, Mary thought. She couldn't imagine having an emotional roller coaster like this every week of her entire life. The occasional hunt was wearying enough.

She sighed to herself, minutely leaning back in her seat. She prayed for some normalcy, for both the boys and herself and her husband.

---

As soon as they got back to the house and John unlocked the front door, Dean practically shoved past them and ran up the stairs to their room. He quickly placed Sam on the bed and shut the door to their room, grabbing a chair and shoving it under the doorknob for good measure. He didn't really know why he was establishing the barrier between themselves and the Winchesters, but he felt reassured in the extra 'layer of protection,' so to speak.

A sharp gasp caused Dean to turn around, finding Sam sitting up on the bed looking around fearfully with unfocused eyes. Without a moment's delay, Dean rushed to the bed and wrapped his arms around his brother, immediately filling Sam with reassurance and comfort.

As Dean tried to reassure away all of his fears, Sam couldn't help but be slightly spurred. He knew that his speaking made Dean happy at first, but when Sam reacted in vomiting and fits, Dean only felt fear for him and rage for Daniel. Sam knew this and knew how to fix it. But, god, he didn't _want_ to. Sam pressed himself closer to his brother, letting the cloth that separated them soak up his tears. Dean's strong arms squeezed him tighter, knowing that Sam needed it. And with a shaking hand, Sam gripped Dean's shirt and pulled on it, begging the unasked question.

Dean nodded, more to himself than his brother, and let go of his brother for a mere moment, so he could take his and Sam's shirt off.

Sam quickly leaned back into his brother, the flesh to flesh contact igniting that spark of comfort in their mind and bodies. Sam quickly dove into Dean's mind, wrapping himself in everything that made his brother _Dean._ Dean quickly returned the favor, intertwining himself in Sam, almost to the point of merging them completely.

Sam always marveled at the skill with which Dean controlled his mind. Sam was nowhere near Dean's control or prowess when it came to the mind and Sam was a little envious. But then Dean mentally caressed Sam, assuring him that his own control would come eventually.

Giving in, Sam gave a small affirmative before losing himself in Dean's cleansing presence.

---

"What're we gonna do now?" Mary said.

John handed Mary a beer as he sat down next to her. "I don't know. Try to give them a normal life, I guess."

Mary gave an exasperated sigh. "You really think those boys are _ever_ have a normal life?"

John frowned at his wife, a little confused at the vehemence in her voice. "Mary... Even with their powers, they're gonna have to go out into the real world at some point. And when they do, they'll have to know how to function in it."

"They've already seen the 'real world,'" Mary growled. "It's a world full of sickos, who're too stupid and naive to not be scared of a couple of boys."

John sat back in his chair, watching his wife fume. "Mary, are you alright?"

Mary's eyes snapped to her husband. "Why?"

"Well you seem to just have something on your mind."

Mary sighed. "I'm just worried. I mean, with powers like theirs, how can they possibly _function_ out in the world? And beside that point, how do you think they'll function with the _trauma_ they've been through?"

John looked towards the staircase. "We'll just have to try the best we can. That's what most parents do."

Mary shook her head. "No. I wanna do more than just my 'best'. With their powers, I'm sure they've seen more than anyone should." Mary frowned, thinking of her own childhood. "Maybe..."

John waited for Mary to continue, but sighed when she didn't. "Maybe what?"

Mary looked at her husband, her eyes filled with guilt and fear. "John... I think I..."

Knowing something's been up lately, John scooted closer to his wife, placing a hand on her arm. "Mary, what is it?"

She looked up at her caring husband, not even noticing that she had begun to tremble. "I..."

_***CRASH***_

Both startled, John and Mary jumped in their seats, looking at the ceiling above them. "Boys?" John yelled as he jumped out of his seat and ran towards the stairs. "Sam? Dean?" John yelled as he got to their room. But when he tried to open it, it wouldn't budge. "Boys!?" John yelled.

"Dean?" Mary hit the door with her bare palm. "Sam? What's going on?!"

"W-we're okay...!" Dean's voice responded.

John stopped trying to open the door, not wanting to startle them. "Dean, can you open the door?"

There was a pregnant moment of silence. Then Dean responded. "Why?"

John and Mary exchanged a quick glance. "We want to make sure you're okay. We heard a crashing noise."

There was another pause before the sound of something being dragged was heard, followed by a clunk.

When there was silence again, John tried opening the door again, the door swinging open easily this time. John and Mary cautiously stepped through, wary of the boys and the possible mess.

Sam was awake, his face buried in his brother's chest and his brother's arm wrapped tightly around his shoulders. Dean watched the Winchesters warily, waiting for a reaction.

There wasn't much of a mess. Their lamp was apparently thrown across the room and shattered when it hit the wall. Mary turned around while she said, "I'll get the broom."

John nodded as his wife left. Focusing on the brothers, he asked, "What happened?"

Dean shrugged. "Just a misunderstanding."

John raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Between you and Sam?"

Sam trembled at this, looking up at his brother with pleading eyes. Dean responded by holding Sam closer, reassuring him that it was okay.

Noticing the reaction, John sighed. "Is everything okay?"

Dean nodded, looking back up at John. "Yeah..."

Mary walked in with a broom and pan. "John, can you help me?" Mary asked, lifting her arm in the sling.

"I'll help," Dean said before John could respond.

John and Mary both looked at Dean in surprise as Dean got up, his brother following suit.

"No, that's okay, sweetie..." Mary started.

Dean shook his head as he knelt next to Mary, his right hand gripping Sam's left. "I wanna help."

Mary gave a small smile, practically frozen with happiness and anticipation on the inside. "Alright." She handed him the pan. "Can you hold this on the ground so I can sweep the glass onto it?"

Dean carefully took the pan and nodded. He held it to the ground, Sam leaning closely to his brother and watching carefully. Mary assumed Sam was wary of her so close to his big brother.

John picked up the larger pieces of the lamp while Mary swept the broken shards onto the pan Dean held. When she was done, she took the pan away from Dean and smiled. "Thanks, Dean."

Dean gave a small nod, looking a little confused. "Y-you're welcome."

Mary stood and said, "We'll probably be having pizza tonight. That okay with you boys?"

Dean shrugged. "It's food."

Mary sighed, recognizing the fact that Dean's wall had come back up.

"We'll call you down when it gets here," John said, grabbing his wife's arm and gently leading her out of the room.

Dean nodded again. "Okay."

* * *

**Well, so that's that :) please review and let me know what you think ;)  
**

**Constructive criticism is my friend! so be truthful!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**I cannot BELIEVE how many reviews this story is getting! Thank you all SOOO much!**

**I'm soooooooo tired.....**

**Anyway, the lamp incident will be explained at some point, just not right now. If I can't fit it into the story for some reason, I'll just straight out tell you what happened :)  
**

**Enjoy chapter twenty-two!  
**

* * *

**Two Weeks Later**

"Boys!" Mary called. "Is something wrong?"

"N-no..." Dean called down. "Just give us a sec!"

Mary sighed. "Alright..." She turned back to the hallway mirror, staring at her reflection apprehensively. "I hope this doesn't end badly..."

Over the last couple weeks, Dean had gotten more and more comfortable with Mary's presence. He occasionally offered to help with the housework because of Mary's arm and didn't retreat to his room with his brother as often. There were a few rough spots, Dean threatening them and so forth. He was still a little guarded around John, probably because he touched Sam that one time in the theater, but he was slowly getting less agitated around him as well. But not enough that Dean will occasionally try to steal a knife for protection.

Sam was a different issue. He hasn't seemed to have changed at all in the last two weeks. In fact, Mary sometimes forgets he's even there. She always berates herself after this happens, telling herself that ignore the boy won't help him get better or more settled into their lives. But she just didn't know what to do. She couldn't force herself on Sam like with Dean. Sam wouldn't get it and it would probably set him back more. The only reason it worked with Dean was because he had some sense of the natural order in the modern world and of the social behaviors of people. Sam didn't seem to understand any of this, only understanding the black and white of his brother's love and protection and the pain the rest of the world has caused him.

John came down the stairs, struggling with his tie. "Remind me again why I need to wear these things..." he mumbled.

Mary smiled as she stepped up and took the tie out of her husbands hands. "To make sure you don't look like slob," Mary said.

John grunted. "Sure. Why not." He looked back up the staircase. "Where are Sam and Dean?"

"Dean said they were coming... There." Mary stood back and looked at her husband in approval. "I had forgotten how attractive you look in a suit."

John smiled. "Not nearly as attractive as you in that dress."

Mary smiled back, but it quickly turned into a frown as the boys came down the staircase. They were wearing dress clothes, but their shirts weren't tucked in, Dean's buttons were mismatched, both of their ties were crooked... Mary mentally rolled her eyes. _That stupid Y chromosome... _"Guys need help getting dressed?"

Dean frowned, looking down at his brother than down at himself. "What's wrong?"

Mary sighed. "Can you at least tuck in your shirts?"

Dean nodded, quickly stuffing his shirt into his pants. He sighed as he helped Sam do the same. "Don't even wanna go to this thing..." Dean mumbled.

"It'll be good for you," John said. "Help you find yourselves."

Dean rolled his eyes. "We're right here. Besides, we're atheists. God's message doesn't really _apply_ to us."

"It applies to everyone, no matter what their faith is," Mary said as she slid her shoes on. "You don't have to pray or anything, just listen. Maybe just the words will be enlightening."

"I doubt it," Dean mumbled.

Mary sighed. While she and John still didn't know what exactly has happened to them in previous homes, they were pretty sure that they had religious nutcases as parents at one point.

_"We're thinking about going to church tomorrow," Mary said. She saw both the boys immediately tense, but went on. "We think it'll be good for you. Not to mention we haven't been in weeks so we're overdue, really..."_

_"What are you?" Dean asked slowly, avoiding eye contact._

_"We're Methodist," John said._

_Dean frowned. "Is... is that the one where you guys roll on the floor and... like... babble."_

_The Winchesters looked at Dean surprised. "No," John said. "Why, is that the one you usually practice?"_

_"No!" Dean said quickly, his head shooting up so their eyes meet. "No, we don't..." Dean bit his lip. "Are they like you?"_

_John and Mary exchanged a quick glance. "Yes, for the most part," Mary said._

_Dean squirmed uncomfortable. Sam looked up at his brother, gently tugging on his shirt, obviously trying to convey something._

_Dean sighed. "Do we have to go?"_

_"We would like you to," John said slowly. "Not only so we can go, but also for yourselves."_

_Dean shook his head. "We really don't want to go."_

_"Dean..." Mary said. "You can't just stay in this house forever. At some point you and Sam are going to need to get proper schooling and for that to happen, you're gonna have to get used to being around people. Going to church can be a first step to being able to do that."_

_Dean closed his eyes, carding his hand through Sam's hair. "Fine."_

Mary also remembered a few weeks ago, Dean mentioning a previous family trying to exorcise them after they saw a so-called psychic. She mentally shook her head. She sincerely hoped the people at her church would keep their reputation for being accepting and kind.

"We're gonna be late, " John said. "We should go."

Mary nodded. "Alright boys, let's go."

---

They sat in the pews waiting for the sermon to start. A few people had stopped and said 'hi' to Mary and John, ignoring the boys sitting next to them, to which Dean was very grateful for. When others came from the other side of the pew to sit next to them, Dean moved Sam to sit between his legs and wrapped his arms around him. He was already starting to regret coming to this.

Sam was minutely rocking as his gaze wandered all over. His mind was far from the church, thinking about something much more important.

Tomorrow was January twenty-fourth. Dean will be fifteen years old.

Usually, while Sam always remembered, he could never do or give anything to his brother on his birthday. Circumstances of their current residence usually forbidding such things, directly or indirectly. But now... nothing has happened for weeks. And Sam hoped it would stay that way so he could do something for his brother. If he couldn't help his brother find his peace within his mind, maybe Sam would be able to do something else that would make Dean equally happy.

And Sam knew exactly what he was going to do. Or what he _wanted_ to do. He wanted to speak. For Dean.

Sam shivered a little at the thought. While he knew it would make his brother undeniably happy, Sam wasn't sure he'd be able to pull it off. The mere thought made Sam want hide in a little corner and never come out. But it would be for _Dean_. And Sam would do anything for him.

Now he just had to see if he could pull it off.

---

On the way back home from the church, Mary let out a mental sigh of relief, thankful that nothing happened while they were there. Most people ignored Sam and Dean, thinking they were just new to the church. The few who asked about them merely smiled when John and Mary said they were their foster sons and wished them well.

Mary had mostly been worried about a few people in particular and their reaction when they saw the boys, but lucky for them, none of those people seemed to be there that day.

"You boys hungry?" John asked.

Dean shrugged, seemingly non-caring.

"We'll run through McDonald's and get something to eat. I'm pretty starving," John said casually.

But as they pulled up to McDonald's, Sam cried out and practically jumped into Dean's lap, burying himself in Dean's arms.

"What is it?" Mary asked worriedly.

Dean looked around panicky, trying to find the source of his distress. When he saw Ronald McDonald at the front entrance, Dean closed his eyes and sighed, thankful it wasn't anything more sinister. "Clown," Dean said. "Sammy's afraid of clowns."

John nodded, turning the Impala around. "Burger King it is, then," John said.

Dean smoothed a hand over Sam's hair, reassuring his brother that the clown wouldn't get him. It actually kind of felt nice to try and calm his brother down after something as simple as a childhood fear and not one of the many legitimate fears that seemed to rule their lives.

"I won't let the clown get you," Dean barely whispered as he placed a soft kiss on his brother's head.

* * *

**THe end was a little more mushy than I usually do, but that's okay :)  
**

**Constructive criticism is my friend! so be truthful!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**I cannot BELIEVE how many reviews this story is getting! Thank you all SOOO much!**

**Okay, as far as actually writing goes... this is my worst chapter yet. I had so much trouble getting into it :P hopefully it isn't too atrocious.**

**For those who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you had a good one and that the triptophan knocked you out nicely XD  
**

**Enjoy chapter twenty-three!  
**

* * *

"So did you find Pastor Ryan's words inspirational at all?" Mary asked hopefully.

"No," Dean said simply.

"Oh..." Mary said, trying not to sound disappointed. She was hoping that church would be a way for the boys to start healing. But apparently not.

John put his fork and knife down as he finished his last piece of steak. "Boys, I've been thinking... Maybe you should see a therapist."

Dean's eyes widened a little. He instinctively held his brother closer and Sam, feeling his brother's anxiety, furrowed his brow in worry. Mary looked at her husband wide eyed. _This_ had never come up in their late night talks about the brothers.

"Why?" Dean asked carefully.

John stared at his plate, considering his words carefully. He knew that Dean didn't trust him as much as his wife, _(who knows how Sam feels)_, but he also knew that simply protecting these boys wasn't enough. They had to _prepare _them for the world, and letting them just simply be would do more harm that good at this point. At least, that's what John thinks.

"You need to talk to someone," John said slowly. "You need to talk to someone about everything you guys have gone through."

"Sam doesn't talk," Dean said, hoping that ended the discussion.

"Then you can talk for both of you," John said. "I understand you don't trust strangers..."

"Then why do you want to send us to one!" Dean nearly yelled.

"Look..." John said calming. "You can either talk to a therapist, or talk to us."

Dean blinked at this. "Why do we have to _talk_? Period?"

John took a hard swallowed. "Because I want you boys to get _better_. And I can't figure out another way to help you do that."

Dean swallowed. "What makes you think talking will help at all?"

John licked his lips as he leaned forward, folding his hands in front of him. "How about this? You talk to me, or Mary, about your first home, when you lived with Sam's father..."

"Daemon," Dean corrected.

"Daemon, and see how goes. Or it doesn't even have to be about your first home. But I want you to talk about something that happened before we fostered you. And then we'll move from there."

Dean thought over it. He couldn't really see what was so bad about the idea except for the fact he _really _didn't want to talk about it. No... that wasn't it. He _did_ want to talk about it, he's just not certain he _can_.

"Fine," Dean finally said. "But I might as well talk to both of you. If I tell one of you, then you'll just tell the other."

Mary nodded vigorously. "Whatever makes you comfortable."

Dean sighed, pushing his and Sam's plates away. "Alright, so we gonna do this?"

---

Dean sighed as he and Sam sat on the sofa across from the Winchesters. "It's not like we haven't done this before..." Dean mumbled. "I told you about the Johnsons and what... Julie... did."

Mary nodded, remembering when they were at Missouri's and Dean telling her about when the Johnsons would stuff Sam in a box while Dean was at school. "That was one of your first homes, the Johnsons, right?"

Dean took in a deep breath. "Yeah, the second one."

John looked down at Sam, who was simply staring into space. "Sam?"

Sam shifted uncomfortably, scooting himself deeper into Dean's arms.

John bit his lip, hoping he wasn't overstepping his boundaries. "Sam, will you nod 'yes' or 'no' for us?"

Sam furrowed his brow in confusion. He looked at his brother in question, looking for Dean to help him understand.

Dean rubbed Sam's back, trying to silently encourage Sam. If Sam could just nod or shake his head to someone other than him, then maybe that would be a step in the right direction.

Feeling his brother's reassurance, Sam barely nodded, answering John's question.

John gave a small smile. "Alright, then. Can I ask you a few questions? You'll just need to nod 'yes' or 'no' for them."

Sam gave another small nod, leaning his head against his brother's chest. Dean rubbed an arm up and down Sam's back, slowly calming his brother's anxiousness.

"Do you remember the Johnsons?" John asked slowly, still worried he might make things worse instead of better.

Sam nodded.

"Do you remember what they did to you?"

Dean stiffened a little at the question, but Sam didn't seem fazed by it. He just gave another nod.

"Were you scared?" Mary asked, barely believing Sam was communicating with them.

Sam nodded again, completely perplexed by their line of questioning.

Meanwhile, Mary and John were both surprised by the completely lack of an emotional reaction from the boy. He seemed to be answering as if it was no big deal, which they both knew that's not how it is in Sam's mind. _I wonder if it's the autism..._ John thought.

"Dean?" Mary asked.

"Yes?" Dean said.

"Do you trust us now? I mean, with Sam?"

Dean tightened his grip on his brother at the question, harmless as the question was. "Not really," Dean said honestly. "But... I don't think you'll hurt him... I don't think..."

Mary smiled at this. Dean was giving them his trust, and she sincerely hoped they wouldn't let either of the boys down.

"We won't," John said. "We would never intentionally hurt either of you. We want you to be our sons. And in our book, parents who hurt their children deserve to go straight to hell."

Dean swallowed hard. He wanted to believe them. He wanted to believe them so badly. But past experience kept him from doing so, not willing to put his brother in any risk.

"Tell us about your fath-- Daemon," Mary asked quietly.

"He was a bastard," Dean said. "Didn't Schunen tell you?"

It took a moment for the Winchesters to realize who Dean was referring to. Their latest social worker. "I actually don't remember what she told us about Daemon..." Mary admitted guiltily.

"Me neither," John said slowly.

"He was arrested for torture and murder when I was nine," Dean spat. "Though, the report failed to mention he liked liked playing with _us_ as well."

Mary felt her gut clench. "What did he do?"

Dean scoffed. "What does it matter? At this point, after all we've gone through, it's just another mark on the tally."

Mary looked down at Dean's hands, the sudden curiosity igniting in her again. "What happened to your hands?" Mary asked quietly.

Dean laughed. "I love how we're just _jumping_ to completely random points in our lives..."

"Will you tell us what happened?" John asked.

Dean smirked. "I thought I already told you before. There was a fire. And I put it out."

John sat up a little. With the knowledge that came from the hospital, the dots suddenly connected in his head. Mentally, he was horrified to realize this, but he remained stoic on the surface. Folding his hands in front of him, John leaned forward and asked, "This fire wouldn't have happened to have been on Sam's back, now would it?"

Mary looked at her husband in disbelief. "What?" Mary said. She looked back at the boys. "That's not what happened... is it?" Mary asked, hoping it wasn't true.

Dean looked down at his hands, rubbing his burnt fingers against each other and feeling nothing. Tears filled Dean's eyes as he remembered not only the fire, but what had happened _before _that. "It is what happened. And the entire story is not one for telling," Dean said bitterly.

"Why's that?" John asked softly.

Dean shrugged. "Even if the knowledge of all of our previous homes _combined _doesn't turn you against us, I _know_ that happened then would disgust you beyond words."

"You really think that?" Mary said. "That after everything we know, we would just turn away because of one event."

Dean started to shake, a tear falling down his face unheeded. "It wasn't just _once_..." Dean said, almost a whimper.

Feeling his brother's distress, feeling what memory Dean was reliving, Sam quickly reassured his brother, once again trying to clear Dean's consciousness of unnecessary guilt about those events of the past. Sam wrapped his arms around Dean's middle, trying clear Dean's mind of the self-inflicting thoughts.

John and Mary exchanged a glance, their curiosities piqued, but not wanting to push it too far. "You don't have to talk about it you don't want..." John said.

"That's the thing," Dean said wetly. He looked up, meeting the Winchester's eyes with his own swollen, red ones. "I _want_ to tell." John and Mary both flinched a little in surprise. "Compared even to the homes and foster parents that treated us good at first as well, I can tell you're _different_. Our... projected auras don't seem to affect you, though I don't know why. You're _different_ and I _want_ to talk to you. I'm just..." Dean shook his head. "I don't know..." Dean looked back down at his hands, rubbing his fingers together again.

"Well, we're not gonna push it," John said. "You can talk to us when you're ready. You only have to tell us the things you want to tell us. In the meantime..." John stood up, stretching his back. "I think it's time to go to bed."

Dean nodded. He stood up, Sam's hand firmly in his, and headed towards the staircase.

"Oh! Wait, Dean!" Mary called.

Dean turned and gave Mary a puzzled look. "Yes?"

"Tomorrow's your birthday," Mary said with a smile. "Do you want to do anything special?"

Dean's eyes widened a little. Even _he_ hadn't realized it was his birthday. He always remembered Sam's birthday, but never bothered with his own. "I'm... I'm fifteen... right?" Dean asked hesitantly.

Mary's face fell a little. She should have realized that birthdays were probably never celebrated previously, but even if expected, it still saddened her. "Yes."

Dean gave a small shrug. "I don't really care what we do tomorrow," Dean said honestly. "Just as long as you guys don't go out of your way to do anything." With this, Dean headed up the stairs, his brother closely behind him.

* * *

**yeah... kinda randomish and not very well written, but hey! it's an update**

**Dean's birthday is next chapter! XDD  
**

**Constructive criticism is my friend! so be truthful!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**I cannot BELIEVE how many reviews this story is getting! Thank you all SOOO much!**

**Okay... this chapter has it's awkward moment, (as far as the actual writing goes) however, I'm very pleased with the content :)**

**Only a few more chapters until the end... but don't worry! There will be a sequel X]**

**On to Dean's birthday! (Part one XD)  
**

**Enjoy chapter twenty-four!  
**

* * *

Mary was making pancakes. That's all she could really think to do at the moment.

It was Dean's fifteenth birthday, and considering he probably has a crappy history of birthdays, Mary wanted to make this one especially great. Problem was, she really didn't know how to make this birthday a great one for Dean.

So, to start off, she's making pancakes.

Her and her husband talked about it the previous night and they really couldn't think of anything. Any place public would most likely end in disaster, and because Dean made it perfectly clear that celebrating his birthday was not on his list of wishes, they couldn't just ask him what he wanted to do.

_I should buy a cake..._ Mary thought. _I'd make one, but I'm sure I'd just ruin it. Besides, it would probably take hours to make anyway. And presents! What should we give Dean for birthday gifts?!_

She was making her second batch of pancakes when Dean came down the stairs with Sam trailing closely behind him. "Morning, you two!" Mary said, mentally cringing at her over-done happiness. "Pancakes?"

Dean shrugged, sitting at the table. Dean brought another chair ans pulled it against his so Sam could sit right by his side. "Where's John?"

"Went out for a run," Mary said, finishing up her second batch of pancakes. "He should be back soon."

Dean nodded. There was a pile of pancakes sitting in the middle of the table next to a server of maple syrup, but Dean had no intention of serving himself or Sam before Mary got what she wanted.

When Mary sat down, placing the second plate of pancakes down, she frowned at the lack of consumption. "Why haven't you started eating? Aren't you hungry?"

Dean just shrugged, avoiding eye contact with Mary.

Mary, realizing Dean's reluctance, grabbed his and Sam's plates and filled them up before handing them back. "Seriously, Dean. Eat. You and Sam both need it." She lay a hand on Dean's, trying to portray her sincerety as strongly as she could. "We're not going to reprimand you for _eating_."

Dean swallowed hard as her unadulterated feelings of care and worry seeped into his brain. He quickly took his hand away from hers, the feelings overwhelming him. _Why is she so... confusing?_ "Th-thanks..." he mumbled quietly.

Sam clenched his teeth together. He hadn't forgotten the incident at the hospital a few weeks ago and still hasn't forgiven her for making his brother hurt like that. Tears burned his eyes as he realized that Dean was starting to _like_ Mary. Mary was making Dean feel... _good_. And that just made Sam feel like crap.

_Happy Birthday, Dean_.

He's not gonna be able to say it. He's not gonna be able to make his brother happy. God, why was he so _useless_!

Feeling his brother's distress, Dean turned his atttention to Sam. He wrapped his arm around Sam's shoulder and held him tight. He silently asked Sam what was wrong, but Sam just shut him out.

Dean frowned. It wasn't that often that Sam just shut him out like that. The last time that happened, the Winchesters lamp suffered the consequences.

"Sammy..." Dean said in a low voice. Then it hit him. It was Mary. Sam was afraid that Dean would leave or get mad at him. He was remembering the Johnsons... "Sammy, I'm right here," Dean said quietly so Mary wouldn't hear. "I'm not gonna abandon you or get mad at, I _swear_. You're my priority. Always."

Sam looked up at Dean with wet eyes. Gripping Dean's shirt, he buried his face into Dean's chest, soaking up his brother's presence. He was so confused... He just wanted the confusion to go away. He just wanted his brother and nothing else.

_Happy Birthday, Dean_.

Sam set his jaw tight. He was _determined_ to say it to him, now. Today, at some point. He would tell Dean. **_He_ **would make Dean happy.

Dean could feel Sam's determination, but assumed it was about the memories of the Johnsons resurfacing. _I'm confused, too, Sammy... But, like you, I determined not to let us linger._

Mary watched the silent exchange between the brothers. She wished she could hear what they were thinking, or feel whatever it was they were doing. She felt that if she knew what was going on between them, she'd be able to help them better.

The front door opened and John walked in with his full running outfit. Mary muffled a snort at the sight. John glared at his wife. "What?"

"You always looked better in jeans and leather," Mary said with a smile. "What do you boys think?"

Dean looked at John for a moment. A small smile started to appear but he suppressed it, instead giving a small shrug.

John shrugged off his jacket and kicked off his sneakers. Then he sat next to his wife and piled his plate with pancakes. "So, Dean..." John said as he shoveled his breakfast. "What do you want to do for your birthday?"

Dean stiffened a little. "I said last night. I don't want to do anything."

John shook his head. "Don't give me that. Birthdays are for celebrating your existence on this planet. And I have every intention of celebrating your existence."

Dean looked honestly perplexed. "Why?"

John paused in his eating. He set his fork down and gave Dean an even stare. "Why not?"

That just made Dean even more confused. "No one's bothered in the past. There are other people that are more important than us. _They_ should be celebrated. We..." Dean looked down at his brother. "We don't do the world any good with our existence. We only do each other good."

John licked his lips and sat back in his chair. "We were unable to have children," John said quietly. "But we wanted children. We wanted to be a family so bad... That's why we went to the foster care center." John leaned back forward. "How were your other homes chosen for you before?"

Dean frowned. "Family's asked for a foster son... I generally fit their descriptions and since they knew they couldn't separate us, we were both given to them." Dean looked back up at John. "Why?"

"So you never met your foster parents before they fostered you?"

Dean shook his head. "No. Why?" Dean asked again.

"Dean..." John tried to make the young teen see. "We chose you out of all the other children at that center. We chose you by _sight_. We decided we wanted to meet you and we did. And we decided to foster you. Did any of the other foster parents give you a second glance when they saw you?"

Dean simply shook his head again. While people usually warmed to him, he was always at close vicinity with his brother, which for the most part turned people away from him. The Winchesters were the only people to ever look at them and not just look away.

"We chose you in the first place because we _care_ about you. We want to celebrate your existence. We _want_ this."

Dean swallowed hard. He felt like they were putting a huge burden or responsibility on him, like something would go terribly wrong if he didn't meet their expectations. "So..." Dean said carefully. "What do we do, then?"

Mary stood. "You guys eat those pancakes. I'm going to go out and get a few things. I won't be long."

Dean frowned. "What are you gonna get?"

Mary smiled. "That's a surprise." She leaned over and kissed John on the cheek. "I'll be back."

When Mary left, John started to eat the pancakes again. "Really boys, eat. You need it."

"So you guys keep saying..." Dean mumbled as he nibbled on a small piece of the breakfast food, urging his brother to do the same.

John just shrugged. The brothers' eating habits were one of main concerns that had Mary and John up talking at night. They never ate more than very small portion of whatever was on their plates and it was concerning the couple, since both the boys were unnaturally skinny. It just made John all the more angry to think about what their previous homes might have done to these boys to make them scared of eating too much.

It was then that he noticed that Sam's lips were moving, and not for the action of eating. He seemed to be mouthing something over and over again, his eyes focused on a single spot, totally concentrated on whatever it was he was doing. "Sam?"

Dean looked down at his brother and frowned. Sam seemed to be muttering something, but nothing was coming out. "Sammy?"

Sam stopped and looked up at his confused brother's face. "H-Ha... Ha..." It came out unexpectedly, but he had been mentally practicing it so hard, it was all that was on Sam's mind and it just slipped out. "H-H-Ha..." Sam swallowed hard. He could _feel_ Daniel touching him in all the wrong places and he couldn't seem to get it to stop. "Ha... H-Ha..." Sam screwed his eyes shut as tears started to come to his eyes, the feeling of being a _dirtynastything_ covering him all over.

Dean's eyes widened as Sam tried to speak. Completely forgetting John was there, Dean knelt in front of his brother, rubbing his hands up and down Sam's arms comfortingly. Sam's body was tense and he was minutely rocking himself back and forth. "It's okay, Sammy... No one's gonna hurt you..."

Sam gave an exaggerated nod, his eyes still screwed shut. Leaning forward, he buried his face into Dean's neck. "H-Ha... ap-p-ppy b-b-birth... d-da-ay... De'n..." Sam said, barely audible.

But Dean heard it.

And that was all that mattered.

Dean nearly cried out as he wrapped his brother up in his arms and squeezed him as tight as he possibly could. He was crying and he didn't care one single bit. "Thank you...!" Dean said quietly to his brother. _!_ He knew how hard this must have been for Sam and he also knew that he did it entirely for _him_. That made Dean feel like one of the most important people in the world.

Sam relaxed as he felt Dean wrap himself around him. Sam mentally searched for his brother's mental presence and wrapped himself with it, letting it cleanse him of all the _dirtynasty_ feelings that seemed to consume Sam with that small sentence. He could still _feel_ Daniel shoving himself into Sam's ass, making Sam jerk in Dean's arm, gripping his shirt compulsively. But then Dean was there, pushing the memories and feelings out of existence until there was only **_Dean_**.

Ah, if only Dean could give Sam the world! And he would have, just for that single sentence that his brother barely stuttered out. But he could only give himself. And he did. He let himself weave into Sam's consciousness, filling his little brother with his gratitude and excitement. He let himself divide into millions of little pieces so to fully integrate with Sam and show him how just how happy Sam just made him.

Sam practically felt like _glowing_ as his brother's overwhelming conscious filled him up inside. Daniel completely forgotten now, Sam felt like a completely different person! This was different than when they weaved into each other's minds each night. There was more desperation, then. More searching and hoping and _fear_. Each night, it was simply solace. But_ this..._ This was something else. This was _ecstasy_.

John sat back as the scene unfolded before him. He didn't mind not being a part of it. Just the fact that Sam seemed to have just taken a huge step in his recovery made John happy beyond words. He didn't show it on the outside, but he was practically ecstatic that Sam actually _spoke_. His only regret was that Mary wasn't here to see it. Sure she saw him talk before, but that ended in disaster. This... this seemed to be the first step, of what John hoped was only the first of many, to their recovery

* * *

**Dean's birthday part 2 next time :)  
**

**Constructive criticism is my friend! so be truthful!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**Thank you all SOOO much! Your support has been truly touching and there's no really way I can fully express my gratitude :)  
**

**I think maybe... one more chap, MAYBE two before the end... followed by a sequel. :)  
**

**Dean's birthday, part two. This chap was actually quite different than I had originally planned. An unexpected twist, but it fits in surprisingly well in my opinion :P**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE/NEW YEAR!  
**

**Enjoy chapter twenty-five!  
**

* * *

Mary stumbled in with her bags. "God, it's cold..." she mumbled.

"Need a hand?"

Mary glared at her husband. "Gee, you think!?"

John smiled as he took her bags away from her. "What'd you get?"

"A cake, some snacks and a few... uh... presents." Mary looked around. "Where are the boys?"

"They're in their room," John said with a smile as he placed the bags on the table.

"Why are you smiling...?" Mary asked suspiciously.

Still smiling, John shook his head, turning to his wife. "Man I wished you were here."

Mary got excited. "Did something happened?"

John gave a soft chuckle. "Mary... he _spoke_."

For a split second, Mary felt a stab of regret that she wasn't there to witness the event. But it soon faded. "What'd he say?! What happened!?"

"I didn't actually here him..." John said. "He just... started to talk, then said something to his brother really quietly and..." John laughed, "You should have _felt_ the joy radiating off of those two. _God..._"

Mary fell into a chair with a laugh. "This is good, right? I mean, this _has_ to be good..."

John smiled. "I have no doubt about it." He leaned forward and grabbed one of the bags. "Now, let's see what you got..."

---

Dean and Sam were both worn out emotionally, but it was a _good_ worn out.

They were asleep on the bed, Sam nestled in Dean's arms. They were both sleeping peacefully, their minds blissfully blank of any past horrors and filled with only the aftereffects of their earlier ecstasy.

There was a soft knock on their door. "Boys?"

Dean was instantly awake, his brother almost immediately after. "Y-yeah?"

Mary opened the door a crack and stuck her head inside. "I'm not bothering you, am I?"

Dean shook his head. "No. Why?"

Mary gave a sideways smile. "Well, it's just that it's two-thirty and I thought you boys might be hungry."

Dean's eyes widened a little when he realized how long they had slept. "S-sorry."

Mary scoffed. "Don't be. It's your birthday. You're allowed certain liberties," she said with a wink. "You hungry?"

Dean shrugged. "Are you?"

"That depends. What do you guys want for lunch?"

Sam looked up at his brother, Dean returning the gaze. "Just... some sandwiches... I guess?"

Mary nodded. "Alright. Some sandwiches, comin' up!" With this, she closed the door and left.

Dean sighed. He was still having trouble wrapping his head around this life the Winchesters have provided for them. It almost seemed like a dream. Albeit a boring one, but sometimes boring was good, especially when compared with the alternative.

Sam reached up and grabbed Dean's shirt, tugging it gently. "D-De...?" he barely forced out, his body tensing instinctively.

Dean smiled, wrapping his arms tightly around his brother. "God, I'm so fucking proud of you..." he mumbled into Sam's shoulder.

Sam hugged his brother in return. "D-De..." he said, this time, a little stronger than before.

Dean tightened his embrace, tears leaking out and soaking Sam's shirt. "You know you're good..." Dean whispered. "You're not doing anything wrong..."

Sam buried his face into Dean's chest, absorbing every last drop of Dean's joy and pride. And every ounce of it made Sam want to talk even more just to make Dean give off even more of these feelings. He swallowed hard at the thought, feelings of anxiousness starting to creep into his mind.

Feeling his brother growing a little anxious, Dean quickly reassured him. "Hey, it's okay. You're doing good, _great_. Don't try and rush it... you're doing _great_.

Sam nodded, once again settling deep withing the recesses of his big brother's mind letting it penetrate his being completely.

---

Mary smiled as the boys came down the stairs. "The sandwiches are on the table. Help yourselves, don't wait up for us!"

Dean looked over at the table, which had a gigantic plate with at least a dozen or so sandwiches on it. He raised an eyebrow. _Wow, that's... a lot._ Sitting down with Sam squished firmly at his side, Dean reached out to take one of the sandwiches but then hesitated. He looked at Mary, who was doing something in the kitchen. _She... said to..._ Dean swallowed and withdrew his hand, deciding to wait until the Winchesters join them.

A box was suddenly dropped in front of him, white tissue paper wrapped around it.

"Happy birthday, kid," John said, sitting across from the boys.

Dean blinked, staring at the box stupidly. "What the hell's this?"

"It's called a present," Mary said, sitting down next to her husband. "Open it."

Dean swallowed hard, still just staring at the present. A strange feeling filled up his stomach, and he wasn't sure if it was a good or bad feeling. "I--"

"How about you open it before any 'thank you's?" John said with a smile.

Dean nodded, carefully pulling the box closer to him. Flipping it over, Dean carefully pealed the tape away, while unfolding the tissue, being careful not to rip it. When he finally peeled the tissue paper away, he just stared at the box bewildered. "Wh-what is this?"

"It's a Walkman," John said. "And since we're not sure what music you like, we'll go out together and buy some cassettes later."

Dean stared wide-eyed at the picture on the box. "You... you _bought_ me this?"

Mary smiled. "You deserve more, Dean. A lot more. But this is a start."

Dean shook his head. "I d-don't--"

"You have survived... so much. And you've looked out for a younger brother at the same time. You're an incredible boy and this -- " she indicated the Walkman, " -- is a way for us to show how true that is to us."

Dean swallowed again, a large lump having formed in his throat. "Th-thank you."

"You are very welcome, Dean."

Sam stared into space, but he was listening very intently to every word that was being spoken. The more that was said, the larger this strange feeling in his chest grew. Sam recognized it, but he had never before felt it growing inside his _own _being. He could feel Dean, his elation at Mary's words, his deep sense of gratitude for the gift... for some unknown reason, it was all fueling the fire that was flickering deep in his chest. Until it finally exploded.

Sam grabbed the Walkman off the table and threw it against the wall, surprising everyone at the table.

"Sam!" Dean yelled in shock. He grabbed his brother's arms and held him close. "Sam, what's wrong!?"

Mary merely sat there in shock, not every expecting Sam to act out like that. His face was red and scrunched up in _anger_. An emotion she had never seen across the boy's face, and she wondered what on earth happened to make him angry.

John nearly yelled at Sam out of gut instinct, but bit back his tongue, knowing it would do more harm than good. He watched Dean struggle to keep his brother in his arms. Sam was twisting and turning, kicking his skinny legs against his brother's. _What on earth's going on?_

Dean tried to reach his brother's mind, but found himself blocked by a wall of fury. No matter how hard Dean tried, he couldn't seem to break his way through. _God, is this how Sam feels every time I snap?_

Not even a minute passed before Sam stopped his struggling. He was panting in his brother's arms as his face returned to its normal color, his features relaxing. He could feel his brother mentally questioning what just happened, but Sam had no answer to give. Not even he knew why he just did that. So instead he just turned around and pressed his face into Dean's shirt, having the sudden impulse to hide himself.

"What happened?" Mary asked quietly.

Dean shook his head. "I dunno..." he mumbled, never taking his eyes of Sam. He stroked his hand through his little brother's hair. Sam was starting to tremble, his fear starting to build from the confusion of the sudden outburst. Fear of why he snapped, and fear of what the Winchesters' reactions were.

"May we go to our room?" Dean asked quietly, avoiding eye contact.

"Sure," Mary said. "Just holler if you need anything."

Dean nodded, muttering a small apology before quickly ushering his brother upstairs. When they got to their room, Dean quickly shut the door behind them. "Sammy?"

Sam stepped away from his brother to look up into his face.

"What just happened?"

Sam shook his head, his eyes brimming with tears. He didn't know what just happened. He didn't know why he did that. And now the Winchesters were gonna hate them! After everything they've done, he blew it! He ruined another chance for his brother to be happy and -- !

"Sam!" Dean squeezed Sam's arms comfortingly. "It's gonna be okay. We'll figure this out and we'll deal. I..." Dean licked his lips. "I don't think the Winchesters are mad."

Sam nodded, still not quite sure. He wrapped his arms around Dean's waist, squeezing him hard. He prayed that his brother was right.

* * *

**1-2 chapters left! stay tuned! XD  
**

**Constructive criticism is my friend! so be truthful!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: Yeah... if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak XD**

**Sam is 10, Dean is 15  
**

**Thank you all SOOO much! Your support has been truly touching and there's no really way I can fully express my gratitude :)  
**

**I'm so sorry for the delay X( School's been such a pain...**

**One more chapter left, followed by the sequel. ;)**

**I HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF HOMESCHOOLING, so sorry if I got the facts blatantly wrong XP  
**

**Enjoy chapter twenty-six!  
**

* * *

**9 months later**

Ever since Dean's birthday, the Daray brothers have steadily been becoming more ingrained in the family unit. Sam didn't really have any more outbursts like the one on Dean's birthday, though Dean has punched several holes through the drywall and broken more furniture than Mary and John thought possible. Eventually, Mary and John did sit Dean down and have a conversation with him about the importance of _not _destroying the house. Dean scoffed when they suggested punching his pillow, but he did try to direct his punches towards the floor he still occasionally finds himself with a fist in the wall.

Sam seemed to be on the mend as well. After his initial first words, he never really spoke. But after a few months, he started to mumble 'thanks you's or verbalize his yes's and no's instead of simply moving his head. He still kept from John and Mary, still very much afraid of them. But, not long after his twelth birthday, Sam had walked up to John, who was under the hood of the impala, and silently offered to help him.

John was shocked to see the silent Sam holding a wrench towards him, his silent message clear. It actually shocked him more than the fact he was just about to reach for the wrench. John's eyes flicked to where Dean was sitting on the front porch, watching the exchange like a protective hawk. Feeling a little bit pressured, John slowly reached forward and gently took the wrench from Sam, being extremely careful not to touch Sam.

As soon as John took the wrench, Sm took a couple quick steps back, swallowing hard and shaking a little.

John smiled. "Thanks, Sam." He nodded towards he impala. "Wanna help me fix her up?"

Sam looked over at Dean, his eyes wide and uncertain. Dean just bit his lip in response, carefully watching his brother for any signs of abnormal distress. When Sam didn't answer John, Dean got up and walked over to Sam, placing a hand on his shoulder.

His brother's presence acting as a comforting booster, Sam looked back at John and murmured, "Y-yes, pl-lease."

John nodded. "Alright. I'll be under the hood, and whenever I need something--"

"Give it," Sam whispered.

John frowned at the way Sam put it, but nodded. "Yeah."

It became part of the regular routine. Sam would help John whenever he was out fixing the impala, Dean nearby. After a couple months, Sam was no longer afraid of John and was able to fully enjoy the lessons John gave on the mechanics of the car. But not to the point where he didn't want Dean near him at all times. Besides, Dean seemed to really enjoy learning about the impala as well.

Not long after that, Mary and John decided to talk to the boys about a vital issue. And issue they both thought could change their whole relationship with the two boys.

They asked the boys if they wanted to be adopted.

For a moment, they boys just stood there in shock, not quite believing their ears. Then, Dean's face broke out in a gigantic grin, Sam's eyes widening with joy. "Really?" Sam squeaked.

Mary blinked back tears. "We have never been more sure of anything else."

Dean lunged at Mary, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly. Mary stiffened at the sudden affectionate guesture, but then quickly returned it when she realized Dean was crying.

"Thank you..." he mumbled. "Thank you..."

Sam grabbed the bottom of John's shirt, lightly tugging it. John knelt down to Sam's level.

"D-Daddee..." Sam whispered hesitantly.

John smiled, his eyes starting to glisten. He wanted so much to just reach out and hug the little boy, but knew couldn't. "I love you, Sam. You and your brother."

Then, for the first time ever, John watched as Sam's face split into a grin. It made his entire face glow and for a moment, John was speechless.

Dean pulled himself from Mary's arms, quickly wiping his tears off of his face. "M-mom..." Dean mumbled trying out the word. "Mom... Dad..."

They got the papers and it was official. Sam and Dean were no longer Darays. They were now Winchesters.

As the summer rolled by and September came, and another issue brought up its roaring head. One very much more difficult to deal with than adoption.

School.

As soon as the Winchesters mentioned in, Dean exploded. He went on a thirty minute rant which included slamming his fists onto the table and practically screaming at the top of his lungs. He didn't calm down until John grabbed him, holding his arms down, and muttering reassurances that they wouldn't force them to go to a school.

When Dean started to hear what John was actually saying, he calmed down enough to notice his brother was curled up in a tight ball, squeezed between the couch and the wall, shaking violently. Dean quickly released himself from John's arms and went to his brother to console him.

It was blatantly clear that the boys were nowhere near ready to be separated and sent off to a school, so Mary and John made arrangements for the boys to be home schooled.

They went to get whole thing settled, starting with exams. An examiner gave the boys a few tests while Mary and John were in the room, to see where they where as far as their education level. When it first started, Sam simply stared at the paper not knowing what to do with it and feeling uneasy with a stranger in the room. It took a while, but Dean was able to encourage Sam to finally pick up the pencil and start the test.

The results were surprising, though knowing the boys, it really shouldn't have been. They both scored unusually high for kids their age. Though their handwriting resembled that of first and second graders, their knowledge was extraordinary. Dean, who would have been a freshman or a sophomore, solved some of the science problems using differentiable calculus, a short explanation written under his work in shaky handwriting. _Doing that is stupid takes forever this is easier faster._ While Dean's knowledge in math and science was obviously expansive, his written skills did _not_ reflect his advanced speaking skills, his lack of grammar and usage of vocab in his writing showing this.

Sam, on the other hand, while his handwriting was very poor for a twelve-year-old, had written skills well beyond his years. Something no one (except Dean) really expected given his silent nature. Though some of the things he wrote worried the examiner, like his example for the prompt: 'Do people tend to be good, or tend to be bad?'

_A man walks to a well and there's a girl sitting on the edge. She falls into the well, her silver ring falling off and landing on the ground. The man is much more likely to take the ring for himself, and say that there was no way to save the girl._

John couldn't help but read what Sam had written over and over again. While it was sad to see some of the things Sam wrote about, it was fascinating to John that he could practically hear Sam's voice as it might be if he wasn't so terrified of speaking. He sincerely hoped they would get to the point where they could actually hear Sam speak this eloquently.

Besides that, Sam seemed to struggle with math and conceptual science, which the examiner wasn't too worried about, given his age and circumstances. He was more worried about Dean and his lack of writing skills.

"He has the knowledge, but if he can't put it together in an essay, he's not going to be able to graduate high school, let alone go to college."

Mary scoffed. College was the _last _thing on their minds.

Sam and Dean mostly did school work on their own, meeting with tutors (only with Mary or John in the room with them) once a week. Dean was extremely frustrated with the whole thing, but the walls had yet to suffer his wrath because of it.

Sam and Dean were starting to have the life they had always silently hoped for. They were starting to feel as though nothing, _nothing_ could break this spell.

* * *

**One chapter left!  
**

**Constructive criticism is my friend! so be truthful!**


	27. Chapter 27

**PLEASE READ THIS FIRST!!!!!! Okay, this isn't my best chapter, it was very hard to write, mostly because I'm CERTAIN most of will want to kill me by the end of you reading this.  
**

**Enjoy chapter twenty-seven!  
**

* * *

John sat next to Mary, who was laying face down on the bed. He rubbed her neck and back, trying to ease the pain a little.

"It's just a headache," Mary mumbled. "I'll be fine."

"Yeah..." John said. He knew it was just a headache, and he knew it was cause mostly because it was _that time of the month_. But he still hated seeing his wife in pain.

Mary sighed. "Go. I don't want to keep you boys from your fun."

John laughed. "Yeah, Dean has seemed to have developed a fetish for bacon cheeseburgers."

Mary smiled. "Go on. I'll see ya in a few. And try to make sure Dean doesn't eat us out of house and home."

John smiled. "You sure you're okay?"

Mary rolled her eyes. "I'm _fine_. Now go before the boys start to worry.

"Too late for that," John muttered. He leaned over and kissed his wife lightly on the temple. "We'll be back in a couple of hours."

Mary turned her head and returned the kiss. "Have fun."

John slowly stood, reluctant to leave his wife's side, and headed out the bedroom door, slowly closing the door behind him. As he headed down the stairs, he was met by his sons.

"Is she okay?" Dean asked worriedly. "Is something wrong?"

John shook his head. "It's just a headache. Probably half due to the fact it's a certain stage of the lunar cycle."

Dean and Sam both scrunched their faces a little in disgust. While their knowledge of the world was years beyond a normal child's, their maturity seemed a little _behind_.

"But she'll be okay?" Dean asked again. "Has she hit her head on anything? 'Cause if it's a concussion...."

"Dean!" John placed a hand on Dean's shoulder. "She's fine, she just needs to get some rest."

Dean swallowed, wrapping his arm around Sam's shoulders. "Okay."

John nodded. "Okay." He looked down at Sam. "You ready to go?"

Sam nodded, though John could tell he was worried about Mary as well. Still staying in contact with his brother, he grabbed. onto the bottom of John's shirt.

Over the last few months it's been apparent that while Dean was extremely close to Mary, Sam had grown an attachment. While both brothers were almost literally attached to the hip still, Dean always helped Mary with house work type stuff (except the laundry; Sam always did the laundry so he could color sort the shirts), just to be with her. Meanwhile Sam seemed to love the sessions he spends with John under the hood of the impala.

While it was nice to have a close relationship with their sons, Mary and John have started to worry about it. Dean rarely talked to anyone outside his family unit (Sam never did), when they were out in public, they're always subdued and a little paranoid. The two parents decided they needed to help the boys get used to other people so they could eventually have their own lives, not stay confined to the Winchester home.

But that was obviously a topic for another night.

John smiled down at Sam. "Alright, let's go."

---

As the impala engine roared and disappeared into the distance, Mary sat up in her bed, looking in the direction the car had left in.

Swinging her legs over the side of her bed, he buried her face in her hands. "God... what am I supposed to do?" She sniffed as tears started to run down her face. "God, I'm _so sorry_..."

---

Fuddruckers was mostly empty, which was why the Winchesters usually came at this late at night. Dean was a little _obsessed_ with their burgers and fries and loved the fact that he could stuff his burger with onions.

But halfway through eating their dinners, Sam curled in on himself, clutching his head.

"Sam?" Dean could feel the pressure building in Sam's head and knew a headache was coming on. "Can we go back?" Dean asked John, his half-eaten burger forgotten.

John nodded. "Yeah, sure." He pulled out his wallet and went to go pay as Dean led Sam to the car.

Once safely inside the impala, Dean held his brother close, knowing the proximity usually helped Sam's headaches. "You okay, kiddo?"

Sam nodded. "Jus' hurts."

Dean chuckled. "Maybe ya got some sort of freaky mental connection goin' on with Mom."

Sam let out a little laugh. "I don't think so."

John got in, turning back to check on the boys. "You guys good?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, we're good."

John nodded in return, turning on the engine and driving back home.

---

When they got home, they were about to go upstairs to bed, when John asked Dean to stay behind for a moment.

Sam gave Dean a little look of panic, but Dean reassured him. "I'll be up in a minute. You go up and lay down."

Sam nodded and headed up the stairs.

"And leave your mother alone," John said to him. "She's probably asleep and we don't wanna disturb her."

Sam gave another nod, "'Kay," and disappeared to the upper floor.

Dean turned to his father. "You wanted to tell me something?"

John sighed. "Dean... we're you planning on ever going to a public school or do you guys just intend to hide here forever?"

Dean was a little shocked by the question. "What's wrong with what we're doing now? It's working, isn't it?"

"For now, yes. But Dean... you're gonna need more than this eventually. You're gonna wanna date and -- "

"I don't want to date," Dean said quickly. "I'm not leaving Sam."

John sighed. "And what if _Sam_ wants to date? Huh? Are you willing to let him go if he wants to?"

Dean swallowed, his expression going a little panicky. "He won't want to date. No way. It's just me and him. We don't leave each other!"

John closed his eyes. "And this is what I'm worried about. If you guys can't be independent, how do you expect to survive? You mother and I won't be around forever. You'll to get a job that'll support the two of you, most likely you'll both have to get a job. And no interviewer will even consider you if you and Sam are always in contact."

"I've gotten us this far," Dean said defensively, though even he realized it was a weak argument.

"Whoring yourself isn't the answer," John said bluntly. "And we don't want you to have to stoop to that level to survive. We want you to have the best lives possible, and we think that in order for that to happen, you need to get used to being separated for periods at a time, and in public."

Dean started to panic. "But what if Sam touches someone and I'm not there?! I can't just leave him to -- !"

"Dean, calm down!" John said. "I'm not saying right away. We'd work our way up to it."

"You can't take away Sam's curse," Dean said, his voice breaking. "Sam will never be able to function in public."

John sighed. "Will you at least think about what I've said?"

Dean closed his eyes. He knew there was truth in what John was saying, but he also knew that some of those things just weren't plausible. But John just said to think about it, not agree with it. Dean nodded. "Yeah, oka--"

_**"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"**_

Dean and John jumped at the blood-curdling scream that came from above, the air in the room feeling as though it had suddenly thinned.

"SAM!" Dean screamed. He sprinted up the stairs as his panic sky rocketed. John followed closely behind, his own fear increasing exponentially.

Dean burst into their room, immediately running towards his brother who was sobbing hysterically. "Sam, what's wrong!?"

Sam didn't seem to hear his brother, just continued to sob. Dean tried to reach Sam, but there was a solid wall of fear, panic, and... _grief_ blocking his way.

John watched the brother's worriedly from the doorway, trying to figure out what could set off such a reaction from his youngest.

That's when he saw something drip from the ceiling.

And somehow, _somehow_, John already knew what he was going to see.

Dean felt something drip onto is head. Bringing a hand up to wipe it away, he automatically looked up.

And the world froze as that _horrible... _image... branded itself into the minds of the remaining Winchesters.

_"**MOOOMMM!!"**_ Dean screamed.

A halo of fire burst from the ceiling, scorching the still, bloodied body that lay against it.

Instincts kicking in, John jumped forward and grabbed his hysterical sons, pulling them out of the room.

**_"NO!_****"** Dean screamed, struggling against his father's pull. **_"MOM! MOOOMMM!"_**

John shoved the boys out of the room. "Dean! DEAN! Take Sam outside as fast as you can! _Don't look back!_"

At the mention of his brother, Dean's eyes tore themselves from the burning corpse to and glued themselves to John.

"Now, Dean! _Go!_"

Grabbing his sobbing brother, Dean hauled Sam down the hall and down the staircase, his mind starting to blank out on itself.

John turned back to the room. "MARY!" He ran back in, trying to find _someway_ that he could maybe save her. "MARY! NO!"

They stumbled out of the burning house, collapsing in the front lawn. Sam had buried himself deep in Dean's arms, his sobbing reduced to desperate keens. Dean started to shake as the image of his burning mother replayed in his mind. It was all Dean could do. Just replay the image over and over and over...

John ran out of the house and, seeing his sons just outside the door, grabbed Dean by his shoulders and hauled him up. "C'mon!"

Dean let his father lead him, his ability to think effectively gone.

---

They were on the hood of the impala, John's arm wrapped tightly around Dean's shoulders, Sam curled tightly in Dean's lap, face buried in his shoulder.

John watched stoically as the firefighters sprayed high-pressure water at their house. His mind was elsewhere.

She was on the _ceiling_. Stomach slashed open. This wasn't an accident. This was _murder_. A murder done by some_thing_. There was no way a human did this. She wasn't just pinned, it was like she laying on the ceiling, her hair and nightgown splayed out as if gravity held it.

And if some_thing_ killed his wife, he intended to find it. Find it. And _kill it._

* * *

***Hides* Um... let me point out that murder is illegal in America...**

**NOTE! I'm assuming some of you are just going to outright not read my sequel because of this. That's your choice. I just want to say that I had this ENTIRE plot line planned out since the beginning. This is what I always planned was going to happen. I never really expected ANYONE to like Mary so much... **

**For those of you who ARE interested in my sequel, it will be called Withdrawal. I hope to have the first chapter up within a week. Maybe even this weekend.  
**

**Constructive criticism is my friend! so be truthful!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Hey, just letting you guys know, my sequel, Withdrawal is up :) I hope you guys enjoy it as much as this one.**


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